One Thing After Another
by NsaneJackSparrow
Summary: Too many things going on at the same time.
1. Default Chapter

-OCTOBER 23rd, 2000-  
  
Lucrezia de Vere stood by a large solitary monument of a stone angel within a hilly and treed   
graveyard. Her black trench-coat flapped about her, the expression on her face was stoic and   
her eyes, had they been visible from behind the large black glasses, had a look of cold indifference. She knelt down, running her gloved hand over the words etched into the stone.   
  
David Ernest Rook  
Beloved Son, Husband, Father  
And Leader Amongst His Fellow Man  
January 21, 1958 - October 15, 2000  
  
Brushing her short but wayward hair away from her face, Lucy stood up and pulled her left   
hand, which had been clenched at the base of her spine, forward. In it was a single white rose.   
She stooped to place it in the cup before once again straightening her posture.   
  
She rummaged around in the pockets of her coat for a moment before finding a gold cigarette   
case and matching lighter. She flipped open the case, drew out a cigarette and lit it, still staring   
at the monument. And there she stood for nearly five minutes, slowly inhaling the smoke and   
flicking away ashes with noticeable aristocratic mannerisms.  
  
"I knew I would find you here, Lucrezia." Said a man's heavily accented voice from somewhere   
behind her, shaking her from an almost dazed state.  
  
"Don't tell me I'm that easily traced." Lucy turned to the familiar accent, a lop-sided grin spreading   
rapidly. "Because if I am, I *really* should get out of this business as soon as humanly possible."   
She dropped the cigarette on the ground, kneading it in with her boot and approached   
Arnaud de Föhn. She stopped just short and stared at him, removing her dark glasses, tucking   
them into an inner pocket and allowing her almost black eyes to glint wickedly.   
  
"Not at all, darling. One must need to know you," he hesitated for a moment, matching her smile.   
"Shall we say...very well?...to anticipate your moves. You have very peculiar habits." Lucy shook   
her head in mock disgust, cockeyed and closed-mouth grin still very much in place. "I've missed   
you." she said as she took the distance between them in several slow steps. They embraced, the   
embrace soon leading to a passionate kiss. After a moment, she broke it off and turned around,   
still in his arms, leaning into him as they both stared at the grave.  
  
"You really should learn to overcome these emotional ties, my dear, they could be your --our--   
downfall." He said wearily. Lucy turned on him, anger evident in her eyes, her voice raised in a   
tempestuous tone. "Damn it, Arnaud! They are *not* emotional ties..."  
  
"Shhh, I don't believe that sort of temper is proper here." He flashed a sly smile at Lucy.   
"I have several matters of importance to speak with you about. Over dinner, perhaps?"   
Lucy nodded her head and they left the graveyard.  
  
The atmosphere was impeccable. Low lighting, small table, French cuisine, Lucy's own   
choice of wines, strains of Bach heard lightly in the background. Arnaud had obviously   
grown used to Lucy's tastes.  
  
She finished off another glass of wine and stared over the table at her dinner companion.  
  
"Let me get this straight, darling. You wish *me* to bring your Invisible Man home to you?"   
She shot a suspicious glance across the table. "What makes you think I can succeed where   
you have failed?"  
  
"Lucrezia, you know damn well what makes me think you can succeed. And aside from that,   
you will not be alone. I will be at your beck and call." He matched her original grin again and   
sat back in his chair, sipping the wine. "Good wine," he said softly as Lucy laughed mockingly.   
"Good wine? That's it? Well, it bloody-well better be good wine." Her tone lightened somewhat  
as she too sat back. "Chateau Petrus Pomerol, Bordeaux, 1945. Averages £4,600." She looked  
up with a dodgy grin, chortled and took another sip of the wine. "For most anyway. The things   
I run across, it'd stun even you..." Her hand reached lazily up and fondled the diamond necklace   
she wore, a souvenir from one of her more recent assassinations.  
  
There were several moments of quiet which followed as they both contemplated the subject   
at hand. Lucy finally broke it, setting bolt upright in her chair and slamming her glass onto the   
table. "Alright then, we've a deal. I'll do your little deed, under one condition." "Condition?"   
Arnaud asked rather amazed. "Lucrezia, really, *we've* never worked with conditions."   
  
"But you do understand this would need my full attention. Indeed, 'The Raven' would have to   
go on a hiatus of sorts. It would cost me dearly." He nodded his head in agreement, "Go on."   
Lucy leaned over the table and lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "Once you do master   
the technology of the gland, I want to be the first to use it."   
  
Arnaud mimicked her exactly, leaning over the table until they were inches away from each   
other. Lucy's eyes bored into his and vise versa. "We have a deal."   
  
Arnaud had given Lucy everything he had on 'The Agency' and it's employees. Alas, if she   
was truly to get the job done correctly, as it should have been done, she would need *much*   
more information. For the next several months, she traced every move made by Fawkes, Hobbes,   
Eberts, Claire and The Official. She knew their preferences in bars, restaurants, clothing shops,   
gas stations, even dry cleaners.   
  
For weeks, it seemed, she was perched on the roof of a building nearby the Agency, reaching   
new levels in chain smoking and her pale complexion almost constantly sunburned.   
  
Finally, after exhaustive weeks, it seemed she had found the target she needed. She sat in her   
warehouse apartment alone and in the dark, save for the light of her laptop's monitor.   
  
She had, as always, been using the identity she showed the world; Lucy de Vere, Antique and   
Art dealer, specializing in art and antiques of European origin. Shortly after setting out on her   
own, she discovered this was the best possible identity to choose. Not only did it allow for the   
easy laundering of money, but it explained away her immense travelling and luxury without a   
second thought by most.   
  
After several moments of thought in the dark, she switched on a light, a stack of thick files   
clutched tightly in her hand. She made her way to the wine cabinet in the corner and wretched   
it open, struggling not to allow the files to slip from her grasp as she pulled a random bottle.   
Plopping it her c. 19th Century kitchen table, she opened the top file and went for a glass, reading   
on the way. She returned to the table, finally setting the files down, popped the cork and poured   
the alcohol into the glass. The file she had been reading fell open to reveal the picture of one  
'Hobbes, Robert'. She smiled at the sour looking portrait and went to her computer.  
  
Several swift movements of the keys and she appeared to be connected with some one on the   
other end. "Finally found that table you requested." She typed with a sly smile on her face.   
"Should be shipped tomorrow, next day at the latest. Will let you know about further developments."  
  
"Of course, Lucrezia, I shall be expecting word of it's arrival." The words danced across as they   
were typed in real-time.  
  
Lucy once again found herself surveying the Agency from the building opposite. She was in   
jeans, a horrible change for her. She'd never worn them in her entire life and she found them   
immensely uncomfortable. She also wore a cream, light-weight turtleneck tank with a tweedy   
blazer over it, hoping she looked sufficiently 'dressed-down.'   
  
She drew her binoculars out of her sack and took to watching almost every movement she was   
able to. But something *very* peculiar caught her attention, something she had never seen before.   
A young girl, no older than nine or ten, entered the building around mid-day. Lucy watched,   
utterly stunned as the girl apparently made her way successfully past the security. 'If it was that   
light,' she wondered, 'What exactly have I been doing on this roof for the last month?'  
  
She shook all thoughts out of her head expect for one and continued to watch the building for   
any sign of Hobbes...  
  
Claire sat in her lab reading a report on her computer. She yawns. She should go take a nap,   
but she doesn't want to sleep on the hard examining table "I'll go check with the official to see   
if I can go home for a few hours." She says to herself. She walks down the hall and knocks on   
the door.  
  
"Come in." Eberts calls from the inside.  
  
"Hello, Eberts, where is the official?"   
  
"He's out, I am holding down the fort."  
  
They hear a knock on the door. It's...Darien, who was a little surprised to see Claire and Eberts   
standing around the office with no official in sight. "Where'd he go?" Darien asked. "If he's not   
here does that mean I get to leave too? Actually that sounds like a good idea I think I might just do   
that."  
  
"No, Darien you can't leave, and I need the both of you here. We are expecting a package here  
sometime from the official and he said everyone needs to stay here. It's only a few more hours   
than you both can go home." Eberts tells them, worried they will leave despite that.  
  
"A package huh? Let me guess you're not going to tell us what might be inside this little   
surprise." Darien asked as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"I am tired, Eberts, I would like to sleep in my bed." Claire told him, trying to hold back a yawn.  
  
"There is a couch in the office down the hall, go take a nap on it, Claire. As for you, Darien, I have   
the perfect job for you."  
  
"What are you going to make me do?" Darien asked. "If its ridiculous I'm not doing it."  
  
Hobbes stuck his head in, making sure he hadn't violated any prime directives. He cautiously  
walked over to the three and said, wanting to sound important in front of Claire,  
"Uh, a perfect job, eh? Well, I do think that a more experienced, and uh, qualified person   
should be your choice, Eberts..."   
  
"Hey! I agree. I think Hobbes here should take the job and I'll...go keep an eye out for that   
package you were talking about." Yeah right! Once Darien walks out of this office he was   
walking out of the building and somewhere else that wasn't anywhere near this place.  
  
"I have to run down the hall to talk to one of the bookkeepers." Eberts pulls out a large   
stack of files from beneath the desk. He sets them on the desk. "Here are the files. They   
are just files for Fish and Game, so there is no need for you to read what's inside. But if you   
are really desperate and want to read about fish being killed, and deer's being shot, go   
ahead, but don't forget to file them in that cabinet over there. " He points to a black filing   
cabinet in the back of the room then heads out.  
  
Hobbes smiled out of the corner of his mouth, but tried not to show his great pleasure.   
"So, what kind of special extra payment do I get with this special job?" He asked but it was  
too late Eberts had already walked out.  
  
Darien mutters something then watches Eberts leave. "Who's all in favor of running   
as far away from here as possible, raise your hands." He raises his hand then goes   
over and sits behind the desk. "But first lets see what's in these folders...Hobbes your   
special payment would probably be a pat on the back if you're lucky."   
  
"Hey, you're just jealous cuz you don't got what I got my friend!" Hobbes said, trying to make   
Darien feel small or something.  
  
"And what exactly would that be Hobbes?" Darien asked not being affected by whatever   
Hobbes was trying to do.  
  
Hobbes was temporarily stumped but regained his composure and came up with a  
quick answer, "Oh, I think you know my friend."  
  
Darien shook his head. "No, I don't so why don't you tell me what I'm suppose to be  
jealous of 'cause right now I'm drawing a blank."  
  
Hobbes looked smugly at Darien for a moment before saying anything, "If you  
don't know, you shouldn't know. If you can't figure it out, then you're too dumb to know."  
  
"You know what, I don't want to know and I don't care. But while you stay here and do   
free labor I'm going to go out and have some fun." If there is any fun to have, he thought.   
"Have fun filing." Darien said, smacking Hobbes' arm then walks out of the office.  
  
"You just watch your back my friend!" Hobbes said very coolly back as Darien was  
walking out of the room, "Now, about that job..."  
  
Darien stopped in the hallway after he heard Hobbes' little warning. "I think   
someone better listen to his own advice." He looked up and down the hallway   
seeing if anyone was around, no one was so he went invisible and went back   
into the office. When no one was paying attention he grabbed the files that   
Hobbes was suppose to put away, turned those invisible then walked out with   
them. "this should be fun to watch."   
  
Hobbes turned to get the files, but found them, of course, gone. He quickly  
spread his hands out over the area, trying to find the invisible man, "Don't  
think I don't know where you are 24/7 Fawkes!"  
  
After Darien ditched the files and went back to being visible, once again, he   
went back to the office and stood in the door way watching Hobbes   
walking around with his hands out in front of him. "What are you doing?   
Making a new dance?"   
  
Hobbes stood up straight, glaring at Darien, waiting for Claire to say  
something...  
  
Darien glanced over at Claire then looked back at Hobbes. "Nothing to say   
huh?"   
  
Claire snaps out of her trance then takes a quick look around the room.   
"Where did Eberts go?"  
  
"She's alive!" Darien said. "He went to talk to somebody. Before you go back   
into your trance I need a shot."   
  
"Okay, I'm really tired. Sorry about that." She begins to walk to the lab, pausing to make sure  
Darien is following her.  
  
"Uh-huh..." Darien walked out of the office and started toward the lab. "I'm   
coming." He told her when she paused and looked back.  
  
She shakes her head at him and continues walking down the hall.  
  
Darien followed Claire into the lab, took off his jacket then sat down in the   
oh so familiar chair. "If you're that tired then how come you just don't take   
off?"   
  
"Because Eberts, told us to stay here to wait for that package, though   
I'd really like to tell him to go shove off. I really don't want that pip squeak to try  
and fire me." Claire replied as she was getting the needle and counteragent.  
  
"I know what he said and that pip squeak cant fire you he's just the   
baby-sitter." Darien said, watching Claire getting the needle and the   
counteragent. "You don't actually think there's a package coming do you? I   
don't. I bet it was just something he was told to say to us to keep us from   
ditching this place. But it wont work on me because I'm leaving, of course   
after you give me that pretty little shot."   
  
Eberts comes into the lab. "You will be glad to know the packet came in, and   
after we open it, we can all leave." He pauses. "I will of course wait for you to   
get your shot." He departs.  
  
Claire injects the needle into Darien's arm, after sterilizing the spot where the needle   
would go. "Oh joy," She says sarcastically. "I can't wait to see what's in this package."  
  
"Cant wait to do that!" Darien said sarcastically, before Eberts had gone.   
"But hey if it'll let me get the hell away from here then I'm all for it."  
  
Hobbes goes down to the lab to see what everyone is up to. "So, what's in the package?"   
  
Darien stood up after Claire gave him the shot and put his jacket back on then   
he started to walk out when Hobbes arrived. "Still around eh? Find those files   
yet?" he asked with a grin. "Don't know what's in the package that's what we're   
going to go see now."   
  
Hobbes glares at him but follows him anyway to see what's in that gosh-darned   
package!   
  
Eberts paces the office waiting for the others. He wants to open the damn package,   
go home and paint. And maybe see if he could get his wife and daughter on  
the phone. They were in Paris for a little shopping trip. They had been gone two   
weeks and he missed them.  
  
Darien entered the office with both Claire and Hobbes right behind him. "Okay lets   
open this baby!"  
  
"Okay, " Eberts pulls a large, thin envelope off the official's desk.   
  
"I wonder what surprise he has for us now!" Claire said not really sure if she wants to  
find out what's in that envelope.  
  
Eberts open the top of the envelope. He dumps the contents out on the desk. "Yeah,   
more envelopes." He mutters. There are four single envelopes each with their names on  
them. He hand them out to their rightful owners.  
  
"Oh how thoughtful...envelopes with our names on it! What a nice present." Darien said  
in a sarcastic tone of voice.  
  
"Who shall be the first victim of his trick?" Claire asks.  
  
Hobbes steps forward bravely and takes his envelope and opens it to   
find a piece of paper with the words 'make all of'. "What the..."  
  
Darien took the envelope when he was handed it. He ripped it open to find the same thing,   
a piece of paper with more words but his read, 'this would'. "All right what the hell is this?"  
  
Eberts opens his and gives a frown. "You stick around," he read off the paper.  
  
Claire opens up her envelope. "I knew," she said out loud. "We all got papers with words  
on them. What kind of prank is this? It doesn't even make sense."  
  
Darien looked at his paper then at everyone else's. "Wait, give them to me." He grabbed   
everyone's pieces of paper then laid them out on the desk in order then he read it. "I knew  
this would make all of you stick around." He turned around and looked at Claire, Hobbes and  
Eberts. "I knew this was a joke! I should have left along time ago."  
  
Maggie was bored, so bored she thought she might actually die. Though her  
mother had told her that was impossible, she never had believed it. She was  
glad to be back in her house, but there was no electricity and she didn't  
have a clue how to get it back.  
  
She'd been forced to steal food, and other stuff. The thought of taking a  
battery powered TV was sounding good, it might keep her from dying that  
awful slow boredom death. But she hadn't decided if she should do that or  
not. That would really be stealing. Taking food and drinks and clothes,  
that was stuff she needed, so it was okay, but taking a TV that really would  
be stealing for real. And her parents might get mad even if they were in  
heaven.  
  
Darien walked out of the office and out of the building. "Now what   
can I do...?"  
  
Eberts watches Darien, Claire then Hobbes depar.He was about to leave himself, that  
was until he heard a noise in the hall. He leaves the office to go out and investigate.  
  
Maggie hadn't realized what was happening until it was too late. At first  
she froze, like a deer caught in headlights. Then, she ran down the hallway  
looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately, all the doors seemed to be  
locked so all she could do was continue down that hall as fast as she could.  
  
"No, please, do not run away. I shall not hurt you. My  
name is Eberts. What's yours?" He was thinking she  
reminded him a little of Charlotte.  
  
Maggie stopped, still feeling a little panicked, especially at the sight of  
some many people, not that it was a huge crowd, but one would have been more  
than enough. She had become suspicious of all adults. Especially ones with  
any kind of official jobs. It was those people who kept making her live  
with strangers she didn't like. "Maggie," she replied softly. There was no  
where left to go and though she could have lied, it wasn't exactly her best  
thing, people could usually tell.  
  
"Hi, Maggie, would you like to go get some ice cream?"  
Eberts says maybe thinking that he will win her confidence this way.  
  
Maggie shook her head, not that she didn't like ice cream. In fact she  
loved it and it was really hard to turn it down. But the fact of the matter  
was she was scared of these people and what they might do. "I don't want  
any," she told him. Eberts? Boy that name sounded familiar. "Do you watch  
a lot of movies," she asked her curiosity getting the better of her. She  
was pretty sure that was the movie man's name on tv, but he didn't look like  
him.  
  
Hobbes was a little take aback to see a young child in the halls of the   
agency so he just stood there...   
  
Darien started looking for his keys to his car but couldnt find them.   
"Damn..." He turned around and went back inside thinking maybe they fell out   
in the lab. He started down the hall and then stopped beside Hobbes.   
"Uh...whats going on?"   
  
Hobbes answered qiuetly so the child wouldn't hear, "There's a kid that   
somehow or another got inside the Agency, just shows you how tight security   
is around here..."   
  
"There's security here?" Darien sarcastically asked before he went over to   
see who this kid was. "Hey there." He said to the little girl.   
  
"Hi," Maggie replied edging away from him a little. It felt like they were  
ganing up on her. She glanced around looking for some route of escape, but  
didn't see any. "Who are you?"  
  
Oh this was great, barely walk over and already freaking out the kid. "Names   
Darien." He replied with a dorky looking smile. "What about you? got a name   
or are you the nameless child of the halls?"   
  
Maggie couldn't help but giggle a little at that. "Yep," she replied. "I'm  
Nameless Halls." This seemed a very silly answer and she knew it.  
Especially since the movie guy knew her name already and would probably  
tell. Adults always told stuff, they couldn't keep secrets for anything.  
  
"You are strangeand weird, Fawkes." Eberts say to him. He begins wondering how the kid   
got in. Stupid security goofed again, he thinks.  
  
Darien slowly looked over at Eberts. "I never knew that. Thanks for letting   
me know that I'm strange and weird." He told him flatly. "By the way you're   
not so normal yourself."   
  
Maggie liked this, it took the heat off of her. That was a very good thing.  
She'd rarely seen other adults talk to each other like this either. Her  
parents....well they were different, they teased each other a lot, but they  
were special.  
  
"Nameless Halls? Hmm...That's original." Darien said wondering if she   
was going to actually say her name to him. If not she probably told   
Eberts. "So how come you're in this dull place for?"  
  
Eberts smiled. "I never said I was normal.Do you want  
to handle the little girl -or- do you want me to? If  
you two can handle her I have to go home to work on  
something."  
  
"We can handle her." Darien replied, looking at the girl. "Go have fun doing   
your work at home."   
  
"It's not work.But it has to be worked on." He turns to Maggie.   
"Be good Nameless Halls, and watch out for Hobbes, he's a leprachaun."   
Eberts says so she will understand he caught her slight irish accent.  
He turns to Hobbes and Darien, "And don't forget to turn the lights out."   
  
Maggie laughed, "'e's too big for that," she informed him. "They're little  
things. Bye," she said relieved that one person was leaving. She hoped the  
others would follow.  
  
Darien couldn't help but laugh at what Eberts said about Hobbes. "Yeah,   
yeah...turn out lights. You can go now Eberts. I think the leprechaun; I mean   
Hobbes and I can handle this."   
  
"It's not dull," Maggie told him after Eberts left. "It's interesting. Why do you have all  
the telephone buttons on the doors?"  
  
"It's interesting? Never heard that come out of anyones mouth." Darien said   
taking a quick glance over at Hobbes. "Uh...they're there so people who don't belong  
in there can't get in with out the code."   
  
Maggie grinned at him, "They don't work too good do they? Is this a jail or  
something?" No that couldn't be it, jails were for keeping people in, like  
foster homes, not keeping people out. Maybe, it was the place where they  
kept all the gold. That might explain Hobbes too, except she was pretty  
sure he wasn't what Eberts said he was.  
  
Hobbes just smiled a little to Maggie. He hated being with kids, talking to   
kids, and everything else about them. In his mind, this child was just a   
burden.   
  
Darien shook his head at her first question. "feels like it," he muttered.   
"No, its not a jail. Why would you think this place is a jail? There's no   
rooms with bars on them is there?"   
  
"I haven't seen every room," Maggie informed him. "And all the doors are  
locked up, that's what jails are like. What is this place?"  
  
"Nothing special." Darien replied. "Just another dull place. How about we   
leave and go somewhere else?"   
  
Maggie narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Like where," she demanded.  
Not back to that awful foster home. She'd start biting people again, if  
they did that to her and she didn't care how much trouble it got her into  
she wasn't going back there.  
  
"Anywhere you want to go. We'll even bring Hobbes along." Darien said, taking   
another quick look over at the quiet Hobbes. He was going to come along if he   
like it or not there was no way he was kid-sitting alone. "But first I gotta   
find my keys..."   
  
Maggie gazed at him doubtfully. "Anywhere I want?" McDonald's would be  
good, she hadn't had hot food in a while. "I can help you look for your  
keys," she added. She wasn't sure about this though. You weren't supposed  
to go with strangers.  
  
"Anywhere you want." Darien said with a little nod of his head.   
Anywhere that wasnt here! he thought. "Okay, you look around here and   
I'll look over that way." he pointed down the hallway..Darien kinda   
figured he had dropped them in the lab since that was the last place   
he had been at.  
  
Maggie nodded and began to move along the hallway looking for the missing  
keys, everywhere she could think of. She stopped when she reached Hobbes  
looking up at him. "Aren't you going to help him too?"  
  
Hobbes was a bit tongue tied at first and didn't know how to respond, he   
could only get outa couple of words, "Well...He...He...doesn't like it when   
I help..." He said, trying to make up an excuse the kid would buy.   
  
"How come," Maggie wanted to know. "Do you mess things up or something?"  
That's the only good reason she could come up with for not wanting someone's  
help.  
  
Darien watched Maggie for a moment then walked down the hallway,   
punched in the keycode and entered the lab. "All right keys, where'd   
you go?" He looked around, walking further into the room.   
"Keys...keys...where are my keys...? ah ha!" They where laying   
on the floor near the chair. He went over grabbed them then headed   
back out. "Found them." Darien told them as he headed towards them.  
  
Maggie skipped over towards him, the door to the lab was still open and she  
peered inside with interest, then slipped past Darien and inside. "Wow!  
This is neat! What do you do in here," she wandered over to one of the lab  
tables and began to examine objects on it.  
  
"Hey...where are you going?" Darien turned around and saw Maggie   
entering the lab. "I dont do anything in there." He went in and stood   
next to her. "Come on, lets get going, we can check out stuff later."  
  
"Why can't we do it now," Maggie asked. She wanted to examine everything.  
"You're a fibber too cause your keys were in here."  
  
Darien gave the child an odd look. "I didnt know they were in here I had a   
hunch that I had dropped them in here. And we can't because I don't think The   
Keep would be thrilled to know we've been in here."   
  
"Who's that," Maggie asked getting more interested in the subject. "You  
couldn't of lost them in there if you weren't in there," she pointed out.  
  
"Another person who works here." Darien replied, hoping that would be a good   
enough answer so they could get out of here. "I was in here earlier before   
you came around..."   
  
"How come," Maggie asked again, but she reluctantly left the room. "Can I  
meet who works in there sometime?" That might be really cool. In fact she  
thought she'd like that a lot. "I want to go to McDonald's please," she  
added.  
  
Man this girl asks a lot of questions. "Because..." was all he said before   
following the girl out of the lab. "Yeah, sure, you can meet her   
sometime...actually you can meet her now." Darien told her when he saw that   
Claire was standing at the end of the hallway.   
  
Maggie grinned up at the lady, she was surprised to see a lady there and she  
liked the idea. "Hi, I'm Maggie," she said cheerfully.  
  
"Hello Maggie." Claire smiled at the girl. "I'm Claire."  
  
"Ah, so that's your name. How come you told me it was Nameless Halls?" Darien asked.  
  
Maggie glanced up at Darien. "Us girls have to be mysterious sometimes," she informed him.  
  
"Uh-huh..." He looked down at Maggie. "Aren't you a little young to be thinking like that?"   
  
Maggie shook her head. "My mommy taught me that and she said girls had to   
stick together too."  
  
"Speaking of mommy...where is she?" Darien asked thinking it's pretty weird   
that no ones come looking for her.   
  
Maggie frowned, what was she supposed to say to that? Not the truth, that  
wouldn't work, but she was such a bad liar. However, the truth was out of  
the question. "She's in Philadelphia," the little girl said averting her  
eyes and talking a bit more softly.  
  
"Oh, and your dad?" Hey there had to be someone looking for her? I mean who   
the hell would let a little girl run around the city without supervision?   
  
"Um..he's visitin' my grandpa in Ireland," Maggie said without thinking. It  
sounded like a good excuse, but being so young she didnt' realize that they  
might find it suspicious that her parents were both far away.  
  
Darien stared at her for a moment. This was weird and for some reason he felt   
like she was making up this stuff but hey if she didnt want to tell the truth   
then so be it. "I'm going outside...come out when you're both ready to   
leave..." with that he walked down the hall and outside.   
  
"We're coming, aren't we Claire," maggie asked looking up at the woman. She  
was pretty hungry and didn't really want to wait around.   
  
Claire nodded her head a little. "Of course we are."  
  
"Good," Maggie said relieved.  
  
Lucy was still atop the roof, flat on her stomach, elbows supporting her lithe frame.   
The only movement visible was the smoke which billowed from the imported French cigarette   
that she clenched tightly between her lips. Looking through binoculars, even her highly   
engineered pair Arnaud had manufactured for her, with the large sunglasses that once again   
Arnaud had engineered for infrared viewing, was not the easiest task to manage, or the most   
entertaining. She shifted slightly under the beating California sun; waiting, watching for   
anything at all.   
  
A movement. It was Darien Fawkes. Lucy shifted again, zooming in her binoculars, putting   
the cigarette out absent-mindedly with one hand and squinting to get a better look.   
  
She had considered him for several weeks as a primary target, and while he was the goal,   
Lucy had chosen Fawkes' partner, Hobbes as the perfect choice. Like a vulture, she watched   
his every movement and new his every mannerism. She'd practically been living his life for   
several weeks of her own last month, and still followed him when life beat her down.   
  
"C'mon, Hobbes," she said, her intense eyes never leaving Darien.  
  
Hobbes suddenly getting that feeling that they were being watched. He instinctively,   
after everyone left, pulled out his gun and walked up against the wall to the   
entrance of the Agency. There, he looked around everywhere, trying to find   
the spy.  
  
Lucy once again found herself turned and leaning against the edge of the roof. She had   
to try terribly hard to hold back her fit of laughter as she watched Hobbes slip into his   
'special agent' mode. She'd watched him do this several times before while she observed   
him in secrecy. His instincts were honed well, that was obvious, but he was far too paranoid   
for his own good, which at times appeared to cloud his senses. However, just in case, she   
reached for her holstered 9mm.  
  
Lucy's heart was racing now which only helped to exhilarate her. She snuck a quick glance,   
lifting up her glasses for better viewing. An instant later, she was once again hidden. There   
was a part of her, as always, that wished she would be discovered, but there was *no* way   
she would let that happen.   
  
Hobbes saw something or someone pop up out of hte corner of his eye, he   
turned, but not fast enough to get a good glance. So he slinked along the   
wall to try to see if he could get a better view somehow. Here, kitty kitty,   
he thought.   
  
If she wanted him today, she'd have to move...*now*...Lucy threw her binoculars into the   
multi-pocketed bag at her side, keeping her gun at the ready. Moving with a cat-like grace   
along the side of the roof, she slipped into the door and raced down the abandoned building's   
many flights of stairs. Her wickedly humorous smile was spread wide across her vermilion lips.   
  
She left the building with an amazing speed threw her bag into her BMW Z3 Roadster. Holstering   
her gun, she popped the hood and quickly pulled several wires. She paused to look in the mirror,   
making sure she looked sufficiently flustered.   
  
"Hello? Is anybody around?" She said, her proper British accent now at it's most impeccable.   
She spied Hobbes. "Hello, sir?"  
  
Hobbes came out ofthe door to find no one but a woman standing by a car that   
seemed to have broken down. Damn crazy instincts, he thought as he put his   
gun back in its holster. "Yes, madame, what seems to be the problem here?" He   
said, trying to sound sophisticated.   
  
Lucy smiled her most beguilingly charming smile, turning on everything she had. This   
ploy was obvious, but she knew Hobbes couldn't resist the 'Damsel in Distress.'   
  
"Oh, Police?" Lucy said innocently. "Thank God...I'm sorry, sir, but my car seems to   
have busted on me. Damn-expensive-foreign-junk-pile." She said, walking to the powder-blue   
convertible, her features hardening. She drew her blazer forward, careful to make sure the gun,   
which was holstered in a hurry, wasn't at all visible.   
  
She drew her gold cigarette case from within the pocket and pulled one of her abnormally strong   
French cigarettes from within it, holding it between her lips, but not lighting it. "Bloody hell...this   
is what I get, isn't it."  
  
Hobbes, luckily, knew a few things about cars "Well, lets   
take a look under the hood, shall we?" He said in the smoothest tones he   
could do. Under the hood he found the snapped wires, but Hobbes recognized   
them as minor wires, two were actually for the radio. Hobbes straightened up   
and looked the woman, eyeing her suspiciously, "It seems only minor wires   
have been snapped, the car should run..."   
  
'Damn it...' She thought, her mind racing in brief panicky, cars were never her forte.   
She leaned up against it, finally lighting the cigarette, her normal blue-blooded mannerisms   
very much in place.   
  
"Wish it did," she hesitated, letting her accent hang heavily as she thought of the next plan.   
"Could you try, possibly? Wouldn't be too much of an intrusion, would it?" She smiled again,   
leaning into the engine, her cigarette held away. "These the ones?" Lucy said, pointing at the   
obviously snapped wires. "Cars never were my forte." She said laughing slightly and drawing herself   
back up. "Cigarette?"  
  
Hobbes shook his head to the cigarette, and didn't look at the car. Instead   
he stared intently at the woman for a second before speaking again. "This car   
runs fine, but something else in this picture is wrong..." Hobbes cautiously   
put his hand on his holster, just to make sure this lady wouldn't pull   
anything.   
  
Lucy snapped back the gold case with a bit of mental amusement. She rather hoped it's   
obvious luxury would have drawn him in, at least while she pulled something more vital to   
the car's running.   
  
She stared at him, the shock in her eyes registering quite obviously, though her entire   
speech was feigned. "Um..." she said, her best nervous voice lilting outwards. "Oh god...I've   
done something to offend you, haven't I?" She stepped away. "I've only been here for two   
months...Aw damn it all...This is what I get for not reading Emily Post..Mum always said..."   
She smiled lightly, nervously as Hobbes placed a hand inside his coat. Lucy bit her lower lip.   
"I'm sorry sir," she babbled, losing all aristocratic presence and she coughed slightly. "It's just   
the car, it rather stopped on me, right in the road...not really sure why. If I need to, ah, a phone   
perhaps? Is that what I should have asked for?"  
  
Inwardly, Lucy smiled. She knew her reflexes would be faster than his if it came to it, but she   
still needed him. Quite desperately, actually.   
  
Hobbes reached into his jacket not to get the gun but his cell.   
Handing it to her, he looked very hard at her, like he was trying to   
telepathically find out what her game was.  
  
A huge grin spread across her face and a sigh found itself escaping her mouth.  
  
"Oh..." She took the cell phone and dialled a number, the relief still *very* present in   
her face. She quickly dialled a number and mouthed "This isn't the first time this heap   
of sh...." She caught herself, smiling lightly. She searched around for the nearest street   
sign, reading it off to the tow on the other end of the line. Flipping the phone, she gave it   
back to Hobbes.   
  
"Thank you, sir, I, ah, I haven't switched my cell service to an American carrier yet and   
I'm afraid I'm rather lost without it." She smiled again, her charm regained and her aristocratic   
presence creeping back into her mannerisms. She hesitated for a moment, then lit another   
cigarette, drawing the smoke in and trying to calm herself.   
  
"I'm truly sorry I started, I started babbling like I did...You see, my doctor just switched   
my Zoloft to Prozac and, I don't know, maybe it's a reaction with the Lithium, but I'm edgy   
and," She smiled attempting a laugh. "Nervous, paranoid...all of the above?"  
  
She flicked the ashes from the cigarette and drew the hair which had fallen in her eyes back.   
"Thanks...ah.." She smiled a cockeyed and dodgy grin. "Can I buy you a drink? Anything?"  
  
Hobbes just cracked a sly smile as he took back the cell phone and   
said very politely said, "No thank you, glad to be of service, now   
excuse me, I have some errands to run..." and walked off.   
  
Lucy looked after him. "Damn," she whispered under her breath. Then   
an idea. "Ah, excuse me." She ran after him, a tight smile spread   
across her lips and her feigned nervousness apparent again.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name and here..." Lucy reached inside   
the pocket of her coat and pulled out another small gold case. She   
handed him a business card, simple with the name "Lucy de Vere- Fine   
Art and European Antiques" With a number and an address listed below.   
  
She smiled nervously, glancing obviously to the fact he wasn't   
wearing a wedding ring. "Ah, I'd really like to talk to you. Like I   
said, I've only been in America for two months and well, I'm new   
to 'Son Digo'" Lucy said, murdering the pronunciation of San   
Diego. "I know this sounds abrupt, but I'm very good at reading   
people and I'd," she blushed slightly "like to see you again   
sometime. Sure you won't take the offer on that drink?" 


	2. 2

Maggie placed her order for the chicken nuggets happy meal and then skipped  
off into the picnic/play area. As she waited patiently  
She spotted the other man from earlier and little girl, she didn't  
recognize. Maggie waved merrily at them.  
  
Darien, being the nice and sweet person he is, paid for Maggie and Claire's   
stuff. He followed them outside and started watching all the little rugrats   
run around the place. "This is not what I had in mind to do today."   
He muttered to himself.   
  
Darien looked at Claire with a somewhat shocked look. "Oh, wow, I totally   
forgot I was suppose to be meeting someone today, actually," he glanced at   
his watch. "right now. You don't mind me bailing do you?" he asked but didn't   
wait for an answer. "I didn't think you would." He pulled out his car keys   
and handed them to her. "Here so you're not stranded...I'll walk...have fun!"   
with that said and done Darien left.   
  
Maggie watched curiously as Darien left waving to him. "Thank you," she  
called remembering her manners, something that did happen occassionally. As  
she nibbled her very late lunch.   
  
Okay so he lied about the meeting someone but it was the only way out without   
having to go invisible and just ditch them there. Darien walked down the   
street heading somewhere when he saw Hobbes talking to some woman. Curious   
and wanting to be nosy Darien walked over to them. "Hey! Hope I'm not   
interrupting anything here but I just thought I walk on over and say hi."   
  
Lucy handed Hobbes the card and nervously asked him if he was utterly positive   
he wouldn't allow her to buy him a drink. Stepping back, she was internally calm   
but also admitting to herself this wasn't going as ideally as possible. But, quite   
suddenly, her thoughts of doubt were shaken abruptly from her mind.  
  
It was Fawkes and he was quite visible. Lucy struggled to hold back her laughter,   
thinking 'If only Arnaud could see me now.' She stepped back again, her expression   
not betraying any of the humor she saw in the scene. She looked to Hobbes, then   
to Fawkes, appearing rather uneasy.   
  
"Not at all...I'm just waiting for a tow...I *can* assume you're not talking to me,   
right?" She said with a slight, uneasy laugh, glancing back at her car momentarily.  
  
"Hmm..." Darien glanced over at the car then back at Lucy. "I'm talking to   
whoever wants to talk back to me. So you two old friends or did you just   
happen to bump into each other here out on the street?"   
  
Lucy seemed to lighten up a little, taking out another cigarette and lighting it.   
It seemed to finally occur to her she was chain smoking. Glancing briefly at Fawkes   
and Hobbes, a cocky smile spreading rapidly, she dropped the cigarette to the ground,   
kneading it into the asphalt.  
  
"Not exactly." She said, still apparently nervous. "You see, that foreign junk pile   
quit on me again and," Lucy turned to Hobbes again. "Sorry, still don't know you're   
name. This Samaritan allowed me use his cell phone." Lucy turned back to Darien,   
smiling her dodgy half-smile. "So now, I'm just waiting."  
  
Darien watched Lucy pull out a cig then end up stomping on it three seconds   
later. What was the point of that? Looked like a waste to do that...then he   
took another glance over at the car. "So thats your car? What did Hobbes   
do, scare it, now it wont work?" He jokingly asked.   
  
Lucy found herself laughing, slightly and staring back at it, once again damning   
herself for such an obvious ploy. But it seemed that Fawkes had come to her rescue,   
much to her shigrin. Hobbes would have fallen for her eventually, it just would've   
taken time. But perhaps there was still a chance.   
  
Speaking to Darien, she kept her eyes on Hobbes. "Who knows what it is. Bloody   
Jerry car, I think it knows I'm British. Hasn't worked since I bought it."   
  
Hobbes gave Fawkes that 'watch out for her' look but didn't really say   
anything, just let whatever was going to happen, happen.  
  
Darien saw the look Hobbes was giving him so he gave him a some type of look   
back then put his attention back on the girl. "Maybe its time to dump   
that car and get a new one."   
  
"Yes, I've been thinking about it." Lucy crosses her arms, and leaned against the   
nearby building's wall, looking from Fawkes to Hobbes then back again. "Well,   
obvious you two boys know each other, I'll let you alone then."  
  
"It was a pleasure meeting both of you, though I have utterly no idea who you   
are." Smiling, she inclined her head to Hobbes. "Mr. Hobbes, I presume," she   
hesitated briefly, "If you ever want to take me up on that offer of a drink, I will   
be more than happy to oblige. Good Day, Gentleman." Lucy smiled again and began   
to turn slowly.  
  
"Whats there to think about?" Darien asked taking another quick look at the   
car. "If its against you, get rid of it and get something that'll like you."   
He took a look at Hobbes. He was quiet, again. What was wrong with him? "I'd   
take that offer if I were you." Darien told him then started to walk away.   
  
Hobbes knew something was wrong with Lucy, but he couldn't quite   
put his finger on it. "I'll catch you later, gotta finish doing...something..."   
He said to Fawkes as he walked off.  
  
Lucy smiled coyly at Darien, desperately attempting to hold back her laughter at   
the double-talk she picked up in his comment. She brushed the hair from her face   
and returned her large black glasses to their place on the bridge of her nose. 'Very   
strange,' she thought drawing nearer to the convertible, 'That Fawkes is loose without   
a watcher' Sure, he had done this before, but never so near the Agency.  
  
She drew out another cigarette from the gold case, realizing quite blindly now   
that there was an inscription on the inside top lid in French. It was signed   
'ARNAUD' in large golden script. She snapped the case back, almost gagging at   
what a stupid git she was. Glancing back, she saw Fawkes speak briefly to Hobbes   
then begin to walk away. It hit her. There was only one thing Darien ever did in   
this part of town that didn't involve the Agency.  
  
Glancing back up at Hobbes, she jumped over the door and into the front seat of   
her car, attempting to start it once again. She blew a lock of hair away from her   
face as the car attempted to start. Apparently, she *had* done something more than   
snap some random wires. Electricity was flowing however and she was able to put up   
the top. Locking it, she left it and began to walk back to Hobbes.   
  
"You may not need one, but I'm in desperate need of a drink." She smiled passing   
him by. "If you change your mind, I'll be in the pub. I think I passed one on the   
way." She grinned inclining her head, hoping he might answer or at least follow.   
  
Lucy continued on till she reached the place she suspected Fawkes had taken a   
detour to. Pushing open the door, she looked around. Not exactly her type of place,   
but she'd been in worse.   
  
Somewhere on the more decrepit side of town, in an old but newly refurbished brick   
apartment house, an alarm sounded. A man's head rose from beneath to sheets and he   
blinked wonderingly at the clock. At almost this same time, a large German Shepherd   
bounded it's way into the cluttered, yet tastefully decorated bedroom.   
  
The brick work was apparent and large posters from movies and the theatre were stuck   
onto it. In one corner sat a fishbowl, in the other a large ceder dog bed. Between   
them, a queen sized bed in all black and beige which had the appearance of not having   
been made in several months.   
  
"Go on, Dante!" Said one Marcus Johnson, mouth muffled by the pillow that was   
stuffed inside it. The dog however, was not one to give up so easily. He leaned   
forward, planting one slightly more slobbery than normal lick on his cheek. "Okay,   
okay, I'm up...see?"  
  
Looking about, Marcus blinked again, his eyes focusing on the hairy beast which now   
stared him directly in the eyes. Once he had gained some bearings on the situation,   
Marcus threw the coverings off, the dog toppling in the excitement.  
  
Stretching his arms, he stood and yawned. Marcus attempted to stagger to the nearby   
mirror, however this effort was inhibited by the dog which was now attempting to   
wind figure eights around the man's legs. Finally reaching the mirror, Marcus looked   
himself over. Truly, he had seen worse, but not much.  
  
His eyes were puffy and bloodshot and he was still wearing the previous night's suit.   
He ran one hand through his ruffled hair, attempting to make some sense of it. Giving   
up on that front, he took to the search for his glasses from the nearby table. Finding   
them, he slipped them over his nose and the world within several feet became clearer.  
  
He yawned again, scratching lazily at his chest before advancing to the bathroom.   
Thirty minutes later, Marcus emerged, dog still underfoot and a beige towel wrapped   
around his waist. He now seemed in brighter spirits. His sudden appearance frightened  
the cats at the windowsill, but they were back in moments, yowling for food and   
attention. "Uh huh, I know." he said, grinning sleepily at the cats.  
  
Five minutes between the closet and bathroom and Marcus was impeccable. Okay, so   
maybe impeccable was stretching it, but he was still very well dressed, by his   
standards. He wore no tie and his dress shirt was unbuttoned for at least the first   
two buttons. His hair was still disorganized and was falling over his boyish expression   
at odd intervals. The glasses were gone however. No doubt replaced by contacts.   
  
He glanced to the clock on the bed stand "Damn." Racing into the kitchen of the   
apartment he took cold cuts, cheese and an old pizza from the refrigerator. The   
pizza was slithered from the grease-proof wrapping and into a large stainless steel   
bowl the floor. The dog dove in immediately and the pizza vanished in seconds.   
Opening the window, he threw the deli meat and cheese to the cats who mewed   
appreciatively. "Welcome."  
  
Grabbing his briefcase, he stuffed it full of files and papers before setting out of   
the door. He was careful to lock all five of the door locks. Reaching the street below,   
he searched briefly for his G-Ride. Finding the black sedan, he set off. Flipping   
through his radio dials, he settled on a Big Band station which was currently playing   
what sounded like Glenn Miller. Rolling down his windows he drove, carefree despite   
the normal traffic, to his downtown office.   
  
He pulled into his usual spot in the parking lot and flashing a dodgy smile to no one   
but himself, jumped out of the sedan, spring in his step. Grabbing his briefcase from   
the back seat, he attempted vainly to straighten his hair once again.   
  
Whistling the Glenn Miller song, he walked into the building, his high spirits obvious   
to anyone who saw him. This was definitely not the shy, and reserved Marcus Johnson   
they were all used to.   
  
All of the management higher-ups had left for a meeting in San Francisco, leaving   
him, temporarily at least, partially in charge. Blowing into his the office with the   
same enthusiasm he showed downstairs, his demeanor quickly changed. Once again   
becoming shy, reserved and apparently slightly embarrassed, he flicked a smile to the   
secretary before proceeding in the direction of the office.  
  
Opening the door, he threw the briefcase into a corner and sat in the Official yet   
very uncomfortable Government issue chair. It squeaked slightly as he leaned backwards   
in it, rummaging through a stack of papers that had been left for him on the desk   
planner. He laughed slightly and was reminded of an escapade of paperwork he and   
his former partner, Robert Hobbes, had worked on while with the FBI.  
  
He leaned back in his chair even further, his thoughts straying as they had a habit to   
do. He thought of what had become of Hobbes, if he was even still in Government   
employment. Another thought struck him, but this was roughly interrupted by a louder   
than normal screech from the chair and he soon found himself toppling backwards.   
There was a rush on the door as his fellow agents stared at him. Some in disgust,   
some in humor and very few in worry.  
  
He stood, brushing himself off, and saying "I'm okay, really, I'm fine, thanks anyway."   
He rose his hands, attempting to push them back out of the office. "Really, I'm fine,   
really." The crowd subsided and Marcus took a moment to straighten himself again.   
Shaking his head, he sat on the edge of the desk, sipping the coffee which he now   
realized had been placed there and reading over a rather thick file.   
  
The day wore on. He wasn't used to the desk job and he certainly didn't like it. He   
felt almost helpless and his depression began to set in slightly. God, what he wouldn't   
give to be out in the field, he'd even put up with Morales' crap about 'rules' and how   
many he happened to be breaking that particular day.   
  
Fed up, his temper rose as he jumped from the desk. He shut the files into the   
briefcase and snapped it with a sharp click. He sat back onto the corner of his desk,   
wishing he had taken the offer of the new chair. Thinking for a moment, he   
considered just leaving, taking up that case that had crossed his desk yesterday. But   
the morning's thought came rushing back. Bobby Hobbes, what happened to him? He   
reached over for the black phone which lay on his desk and quickly dialed a number.   
  
"Hello? Yeah, Hadley? Uh huh, I need a favour." On the other end of the line, Hadley   
scribbled down the information Johnson was giving him. "You've got to be kidding,   
Johnson. Hobbes? Wasn't he your partner here?"  
  
"Yeah," Marcus was distracted by a file briefly. A Basque terrorist that was supposedly   
scene in the nearby area. Shelks, Vivian. He shook his head, pitying the kid and her   
obviously tough life. "Oh ah, yeah, right, Hadley."  
  
"You listening to me, Johnson. This is the third time I've done this. You owe me big."   
Hadley shifted his voice into an attempt at darkness. "You know what is required."  
  
"Yeah, Hadley, I know, I know," Hadley and Marcus spoke at the same time. "Keep   
your/my mouth shut." "Okay, Johnson, hold on." Marcus held for what seemed like   
eternity before Hadley came back on. "Okay, here it is."  
  
Marc reached for a pad and wrote down everything Hadley said. "Yeah, thanks. And   
I know, I owe you." "That's right, Johnson." Marcus slammed down the phone and   
rolled his eyes. "FBI, and I wonder why I left?" He ran his eyes across the pad and   
locked onto a cell phone number. Picking up the phone again, he dialed the number   
referring to the pad and mouthing the number.  
  
Waiting...waiting...ringing..."Fish and Game? Hobbes at F&G? What a waste." he   
said aloud as he continued to wait for Hobbes to pick up.  
  
Darien walked to his usual hang out...he sat at the bar and ordered his usual   
then started to look around the place just in time to see Lucy walk right on   
in. He didnt do anything, thinking maybe Hobbes was going to walk in right   
after her but since it looked like Lucy was alone...he grabbed his drink then walked   
over to her.   
  
Lucy looked up, avoiding bringing her gaze directly to Fawkes. Thus she looked very   
surprised when Fawkes approached her, drink in hand.  
  
"Hey, so we meet again." Darien said.   
  
Removing her glasses, she tucked them into a pocket and glanced up smiling. "Oh,   
well, yes, apparently we do." Again her sly smile spread across, her charm once again   
radiating. "Pity about your friend." She said softly, advancing to the bar and ordering   
a vodka. She turned back to Fawkes and carefully removed another cigarette.  
  
"Who? Hobbes? Ah, his loss." Darien said following her back over to the bar.   
He watched her pull out another cig, wondering if she'd get rid of this one   
in five seconds.  
  
"Lucy de Vere." She said, managing to hold out a hand and light the smoke at the   
same time.  
  
"Darien Fawkes." He said shaking her hand.   
  
"It's a pleasure Mr. Fawkes." Lucy smiled slightly, inhaling the smoke and pushing   
it out in quiet. This was always a time of introspection for her and she seized it   
every time. Turning to her drink, she closed her eyes and downed it before turning   
back to the bartender and ordering another with the flick of her hand.  
  
"So, what do you do, Mr. Fawkes? I deal in fine art. Damn boring job if you ask me."   
Lucy said, laughing slightly.  
  
"What's with the formal crap? Pick one name and leave out the mister." Darien   
told her as he sat down in the seat next to her's. Oh I work for an agency that   
treats me like a lab rat among other things...ok so he wasnt going to say   
that but it was just a thought. "Hey mine isnt so exicting either...   
Department of Fish and Game whoop-de-doo!"   
  
"Sorry," she hesitated, her rather silly lopsided grin returning. "Darien, force   
of habit I guess." She continued to blow out the heavy smoke from the foreign   
cigarette.  
  
Lucy laughed as she brought her drink to her lips and downed it again. Fish and   
Game, hah! She was now feeling *much* better about this whole affair. Hobbes had   
tempted her violent temper and she had come very close to losing it. But it appeared   
as though Darien would be much simpler. And he was, after all, her final target. She   
would be handing the gland to Arnaud on a silver platter before long.  
  
"Fish and Game? Government then? My father wanted me to go into MI6." Lucy said,   
laughing again and crushing the cigarette into the ashtray. "Was never meant to be."   
She lamented, staring at the embers in the tray before cheering again. "Still, it   
sounds much more interesting than what I do." She crossed her legs and twirled   
slightly on the barstool.   
  
"Mr. Hobbes works with you then?"  
  
Darien nodded his answer to the F. and G./Goverment question. "What sounds   
more interesting? What I do? Ha! Its not...If you're bored with what you do   
then why do you do it? Why not do something new?" He didn't really understand   
why people stayed in jobs they hated or found uninteresting. Why not find   
something better then ditch the dull job? He finished off his first drink,   
ordered another then answered her last question he almost forgot about.   
"Yeah, we work together."   
  
Lucy smiled and shrugged. Tapping the barkeep for a cognac this time, she turned   
back to Darien. "Well, I suppose that it's all a matter of circumstances. I currently   
happen to make damn good money. But, if the correct opportunity came along, I   
would jump in an instant."   
  
"And aren't you being slightly hypocritical? You tell me you're job is equally as   
ho-hum, yet you stay."   
  
She wasn't quite sure where she was going with this conversation, but she was   
enjoying it all the same. This was the first time she had actually spoken to Darien   
and she found herself lamenting the fact that this could only end up one way. But   
she shrugged it off, sipping lightly at her drink.   
  
"I have no choice. I have to say but believe me if I could leave I would in a   
heartbeat." Darien told her and hey he would too if he could. "Dont ask   
either; dont feel like explaining."   
  
Lucy cocked an eyebrow and took another sip of her drink. "I understand." Which,   
in a way, she did. But all in all she was devastatingly pleased with her current   
employment.   
  
A wicked grin slid slyly across her face. "I also understand that if I don't get out   
of the Arts business soon, I think I'll go batty. My da was in MI6, my grandfather   
was in MI6. If da hadn't disappeared, I would've gone in too, but oh well." She   
hesitated, becoming overly dramatic. "Of all the sad words from tongue or pen,   
the sadest are these: It might have been!" She smiled her cockeyed smile and   
laughed.  
  
Pulling out her matching gold business card case, she wretched the same card she   
had given Hobbes. "If you ever need a 17th century vase, please, let me know."   
She laughed mildly before slipping into an almost comatose appearing state.   
Contemplating her thoughts for a moment, she stared into her drink and sighing   
heavily. The world was becoming slightly fuzzy, however she never actually became   
drunk, she had an amazing tolerance for liquor.   
  
She looked over to Darien again, becoming rather mercurial in the attitude; a   
complete reversal from her former attitude. "Fish and Game, right? Well, you know,   
I think you're exactly who I should be speaking to." She shifted, turning to face   
him fully. "During my last visit to Taiwan, I met several Americans who've been   
smuggling Tiger hides." She hesitated, her attitude not at all mirroring the seriousness   
of the sudden shift in conversation. "If you're interested, I can give you names."   
She lit up another cigarette, waiting for his response.  
  
Darien took the card from her and looked over it. What is with the gold?   
Everything he has seen of her's has been in gold. "Do you have some type of   
obsession with gold or something? Everything I've seen you pull out is gold"   
He asked while pocketing the card. "Hmm....thats nice." Darien didnt really care   
about the smuggling of anything right now.   
  
"A, ah," Lucy couldn't help the smile breaking her lips, "The set was a gift from   
a *very* good friend of mine." She bit the sides of her mouth in an attempt to hold   
back the humorous irony of it all. She put the case back inside her blazer, still   
laughing to herself. "And yes, I do have a bit of an obsession with gold, well, any   
luxury really."   
  
Lucy looked at him for a moment, an eyebrow cocked. "Ah, so Fish and Game aren't   
monitoring the Lacey Act anymore? Well, that's good to know. They mentioned   
something about a tiger coat anyway." She chuckled into her glass as she took   
another sip. "Joking," she said with a smile.   
  
"So, Darien, what else do you do? Hobbies? Sorry if I'm babbling, but you're the   
first person I've talked to in days."   
  
Darien looked over at her, grinning. "So is this tiger thing something you   
just made up or are you being serious about it? Its not like I really care at   
this point but I'm just curious." Hmmm...hobbies he had to think about his   
for a moment. "You're not babbling and if you are I haven't noticed   
then...Does driving people up the wall count as a hobby?"   
  
Lucy had to admit, Darien's grin was infectious. She grinned back, the left side   
of her mouth as always, slightly higher than the other. "Nope, I'm quite serious   
about it." Lucy replied, attempting a serious expression that just wouldn't come   
across correctly. "You see, I meet quite a few," She hesitated her trademark foxy   
smile creeping back into her features. "Unsavory types in my line. You'd be amazed   
the sorts who are interested in Fine Art."  
  
Finishing off her cognac, she stared at the empty glass briefly before ordering another   
and looking back up to Darien, her black eyes twinkling.   
  
Lucy laughed again. "Only if I can count it too. Not to mention sarcasm and   
kleptomania." She stared directly at him, her expression unchanged for a moment,   
pretending to be quite serious before cracking with laughter. "Sorry, getting rather   
tipsy, I suppose. Doctor says I shouldn't combine alcohol and lithium, but what the   
hell? You only live once."  
  
"Oh I can imagine whos all interested in fine art." Darien said, finishing   
off drink number, lost count somewhere back there. "Then I guess we have the   
same hobby. Thats interesting." He stood up tossed some money on the counter   
then looked back at Lucy. "I dont know about you but I'm tired of being   
here...I want to go do something." He said with a grin.   
  
Lucy shot up from the stool with a grin to match even Darien's. "Sounds good to me."   
She snapped her purse shut after throwing a hundred onto the bar. She'd bought the   
barkeep's silence along with some information that had come in handy. Winking at him,   
she joined Darien at the door. "So, any ideas?" Drawing the blazer around her lithe   
form, her gun hidden well.   
  
"Nope." Darien replied as he walked out of the place. "You wouldnt happen to   
have any ideas would you?"   
  
Well, there was one idea. Perhaps it was her intoxicated state. Or perhaps is was   
because Arnaud's Invisible Man was currently at her side but she wanted nothing   
more than to wreak a little havoc. The first item that came to mind were the   
Romanov jewels which were currently on display at the art museum in Balboa Park.   
But logic won over and showed her that neither she nor Fawkes were in any condition   
for such a grand heist. It could wait for another day.  
  
She shrugged as she turned to Darien. "A few, but none of them are worth anything.   
Other than that, I'm clueless."   
  
"That doesn't help out much." Darien said flatly, looking around the   
street, trying to figure out what to do. "Does anyone have any idea for what   
we can do?!" He yelled out not caring about any looks he'd be getting from   
that. He shrugs then looks back over at Lucy. "Are you sure you don't have   
any ideas?" He askes then grabs onto a metal pole and starts swing around   
it. "Around and around I go where I stop no body knows!"   
  
"Sorry Dar," she said looking up at him with a raised eyebrow as he called out for   
the assistance of any of the passersby. She burst into a fit of laughter as she   
watched the looks from the people who now passed them. "Damn Yanks and your   
sense of public reserve!" She yelled at a pitch equal to Darien's. So this was how   
Arnie's precious gland was being used. That thought sent her into hysterics again.   
How many drinks had it been? She didn't know, but she hadn't been this intoxicated   
for at least a year.  
  
While having no control over emotions, she was, however, still mentally alert.   
Though Lucy doubted Darien had the same harness over himself.  
  
"Are you sure you don't have any ideas?" Lucy bit her lower lip. The thought of   
the jewels came back, but her original thoughts about Darien's conditions were true,   
he was in no shape. "Nope, but I'm up for anything! Hell, that even looks like fun."   
She grinned as Darien twirled around and around the pole. If he lasted through *that*   
he had more guts than she thought.   
  
"Oh yeah this is sooo much fun! You should try it." Darien let of of the pole   
moved over to Lucy's side then ended up falling over into someone's lawn.   
"Went around too many times....Everything's spinning!"   
  
Lucy stepped up, bowing slightly and buttoning her blazer. "Why thank you, sir."   
She gripped the pole, not for the enjoyment. Rather, her inbred need to be better,   
to last longer, now made itself known. She bowed again and started to spin around   
the pole similar to what Darien had done moments before. A minute later she stepped   
off, brushing her blazer and staring at Darien with a cynical look.  
  
"I always heard American's were much better at drunken mayhem." She smiled   
attempting to hold back the laughter that was bursting to the seems inside her.   
What the hell was she doing? She blinked several times, trying to regain her   
composure and remembering who it was that lay on the grass only a few feet away.   
Taking out another cigarette, she lit it and stood there, waiting for Darien's world   
to stop spinning.  
  
"We really need something good." Lucy looked around, still biting her lip, her brow   
furrowed in thought.  
  
Darien sat up after the spinning went away. He couldn't help but to laugh at   
Lucy as she went swinging around the pole. She looked silly doing it. He got up   
off the ground then looked over at the house. "hmm..." He walked towards the   
porch then stopped at the door and looked back over at Lucy.  
  
Lucy cocked an eyebrow at Darien who was grinning madly at her from the porch   
of the house. She was back in control now, smoking always had that effect. She   
watched Darien, her cynical expression not changing. "Darien, that's not a good look.   
What *exactly* are you going to do?" She said with a voice that didn't mirror her   
misanthropical expression at all. She knew exactly what he was going to do, and   
while she would have paid to watch it, it was most definitely not a good plan to   
do it now.  
  
"Want to come along and see what I'm up to?" He asked loud enough for Lucy to hear   
but not loud enough to attract the attention of the people from within the house.   
  
Lucy looked at the people who were still passing the street and the house. She   
scanned them, her eyes darting with masterful observance through the crowd.   
And then she spotted him. There was a man who stood watching him yet casually   
looking away at intervals. Lucy knew Arnaud had sent him for her help, but she   
also knew he reported back to her 'partner' every day. She nodded to him, knowing   
Darien was too far out of it to realize anything.  
  
"It's not worth it, you do realize that." She said walking to Darien, her right hand   
on her hip and the left arm folded and still holding the cigarette.   
  
"It's bad enough I have to hear everyone else telling me don't do this and   
don't do that and anything else they feel like telling me but do I have to   
hear something similar from you? You don't even know me." He jumped off the   
porch then started walking back down the street. He was going to find   
something to do...didn't know what exactly but it was going to be something.   
  
Lucy found herself laughing once again as Darien turned on her and started off   
down the street. She ran after him, quickly catching up to him, secretly relieved   
he was had decided against that particular activity. "Dar, I never said you *shouldn't*   
do it. I just said it wasn't worth it." Her voice was lively and her proper accent   
sounded quite out of place.   
  
"And after all, that place was a dump." She added with a grin as she tossed the   
cigarette to the ground.   
  
Darien shoved his hands into his pants pockets then started whistling some   
stupid tune until Lucy cought up to him then he stopped. "It's the same   
thing...I just wanted to go mess with the people inside...Don't judge a book   
by its cover you never know what kind of goods you can find inside."   
  
Lucy cocked an eyebrow and attempted her cynical look, but it just didn't come   
across right. Shrugging at Darien, she said quietly, "Alright then, we'll have it   
your way. No more protesting from me." She grinned at him, then bit her lower   
lip in an vague attempt to think straight. 'What the heck,' she thought, 'It'd be   
fun'.' And tonight, after months of being quite serious, Lucy needed a little fun.   
"Okay, Darien, what's your plan?"  
  
"Good to know." Darien grinned and patted her on the back. Now! back to what   
he was going to do...mess around with whatever house full of people he can.   
He stopped walking and looked at a house that seemed to be pretty much alive.   
He held out his hand to Lucy. "Grab a hold..."   
  
A thought of what Darien was planning shot through Lucy like a fierce, chilling   
zephyr. She grinned, attempting to hold back the nervous excitement she felt,   
instead portraying a rather curious look. "Whatever you say, Dar." Glancing briefly   
to the house next to them, she bit her lip again in an attempt to hold back the   
hysterical laughter that seemed to crop up at inopportune moments. She stepped   
forward, taking his hand firmly and looking up with a devastatingly mischievous grin.  
  
Darien grabbed a hold of Lucy's hand then looked over at her. "You're going to   
love this." He said as they walked up to the porch and then quicksilvered   
them both. "Time for some fun."   
  
Lucy was, for possibly the first time in her life, utterly speechless. "Bloody hell...."   
She said, watching the quicksilver spread across her body before disappearing. She   
gulped looking up to where Darien should have been, not worrying about hiding the   
expression of daze yet trying to imagine how someone who had no idea of this   
possibility would react. "Ah, Dars, I think I'm more inebriated that I originally   
thought..."  
  
"You're not imagining this if that is what you are trying to say." He pushed   
open the unlocked door then walked inside. "don't let go unless you want to   
be seen..." Darien whispered to Lucy then walked further inside of the house.   
  
There was a child, sitting on the floor watching the TV. "Perfect," He   
breathed then went and grabbed the remote to turn off the television. It   
wasn't that big of a deal but hey gotta start out somewhere.  
  
The kid gasped then quickly turned around to see who had turn off the TV but   
no one was there, so she shrugged then turned it back on just to have it go   
off on her again.   
  
Darien grinned even though no one can see his expression but hell this was   
somewhat fun. He started looking around the living room. There was a stuffed   
bear laying on the couch. He grinned again then grabbed the bear just in time   
for the girl to see it flying through the air. Her eyes went wide and she   
jumped up from the floor. Darien made the bear face her then yelled. "BOO!"   
The girl ran out of the room screaming. "MOOOOMMMMYYYY!!!!"   
  
Lucy audible gulped again. Another first, she was actually quite nervous, but her   
adrenaline was running high which drove her further. Opening her eyes finally,   
Lucy looked around. Her world was silver, in was utterly inexplicable. Had she   
been visible, her almond-shaped eyes had reached a size one wouldn't think them   
able to. She nodded to Darien's comment, but stopped when she realized the nodding   
wouldn't be seen, simply whispering "I won't let go if you don't, Darien."   
  
She followed behind him, attempting to adjust herself to this new vision. Nervous   
and, though she wouldn't admit it, afraid, she held close to Darien, her breathing   
heavy. Had she been in any other state of mind, she would have been wanting to   
try this new ability to it's fullest, however, still very tipsy, her thoughts strayed   
back to the havoc she wanted to cause earlier. The two turned a corner from the   
hall and arrived in the living room. There was a kid on the floor, entranced in the   
cartoons which blared through the speakers.   
  
Lucy found herself successfully stifling her laughing fit again as she heard Darien   
say, "Perfect." Lucy hated kids and this would definitely be worth a little fun.   
She watched the remote raise up and flick off the TV. Okay, it was a start, but   
she wanted more. Darien was obviously thinking along the same lines as he manipulated   
the bear, ending the child's utter shock which had now turned to fear. 


	3. 3

Again, Lucy sniggered just slightly as she spotted a piano in the corner, making a   
mental note to herself as. "C'mon." She respired as she took the lead, her brain   
now becoming use to the unusual vision the quicksilver provided. She raced after   
the child with her stealthy grace she had developed years ago. The child ran into   
the kitchen where the mother was preparing a dinner. Lucy waited, listening carefully   
as the girl related her story to her mother who listened with that classic parental   
disbelief belief that was always given to young children with large imaginations.  
  
Lucy sunk around the side, keeping close to the edge though she really didn't know   
why. Silently, she reached for a cup and lifted it behind the mother. The kid looked   
up, her eyes wide again, pointing. "Mommy! Look!" Lucy replaced the cup quickly as   
the mother slowly stood and turned around. Looking back to the child, she gave a   
soft delicate about lying before shoving the kid from the kitchen sighing. The mother   
was absorbed in dinner now and didn't notice as Lucy opened several of the cupboards.   
Finally looking up, her eyes widened, giving her a look similar to her daughter's.   
Blinking several times in disbelief she slowly shut the cupboards and went back to her   
preparing, glancing around paranoid.  
  
She couldn't resist. Lucy opened another cupboard and removed a plate, dropping it   
and shuddering with delight at the sound. The mother turned, her hand grasping at   
the racing heart in her throat. Again, Lucy removed a plate in her full view and   
dropped it.   
  
Darien busted up with laughter until he got pulled along for a chase after   
the little girl he just scared to death. They ended up in the kitchen and hey   
look another victim to scare! He stood there beside Lucy listening to what   
the child was telling her mother of course the woman didn't believe a word   
the child was saying. Hell who would believe anything about a flying, talking   
bear?   
  
Darien watched as Lucy picked up the mug then ended up setting it down again.   
What was she going to do next? He wondered then watched the kid leave. He   
watched Lucy open up cupboards...he didn't touch anything this was her time for some   
fun although he was going to join in in a minute.   
  
After the first plate breaking Darien grabbed a glass that was sitting on the   
counter, he tossed it up in the air then let it fall to the ground with a crash.   
"Muhahahahahaha!!"   
  
Lucy was sent into another of her laughing fits as Darien dropped the glass with a   
melodramatically evil laugh. In truth he sounded vaguely like 'The Master' from   
Doctor Who. However she did manage to keep a tight clench on Darien's hand.   
"This is a dream, isn't it?" She said softly, attempting to recover from the laughter.   
  
"This is real." Darien answered back just as low. He watched Lucy mess around   
with the mother. This was all to much fun.  
  
She picked up another mug, tossing it up and catching it. Again and again she watched   
the frightened woman's eyes follow the cup before she finally allowed it to drop.   
"Oops...pity...nice floral design like that. Seventeenth century influence, no?"  
  
She did this several times, the woman speechless until a faint scream finally escaped   
her lips. "Here, catch!" Lucy cried through the laughter, throwing the mother a   
plate. She fumbled in her daze and the plate dropped to the floor. "Ah, a set   
for the glass? That's a pity too."  
  
Feeling *she* had done enough in the kitchen, she pulled herself back to Darien's   
side. "Monsieur, your turn."  
  
He laughed when the woman finally ran out of the kitchen in fear. "Two down...  
wonder how many more there is around this place...Come on." He said pulling her   
along into another part of the house.   
  
They walked down the hallway...Darien stopped by an open bedroom door. "oooh   
what do we have here? Victim number three?" He said loud enough for just Lucy to   
hear.   
  
Lucy drew in the tense excitement and the fear of the household members that lay   
thick in the air. This was the feeling she got every time she stole, every time she   
killed...but this feeling was different somehow. She shrugged it off as the woman   
ran from the kitchen, not screaming but obviously terrified. Again she laughed a high,   
uncontrollable laugh. "Darien..my god...." It was all she could say, speechless once   
again.   
  
She followed close behind him as he drug her down the main corridor of the house.   
Lucy giggled shrilly like a schoolgirl. A teenage girl, about 14, lay on the bed, winding   
the cord of a phone around her fingers lazily. Lucy pushed the door open the rest of   
the way, creaking it slightly. The girl looked up and shrugged, returning to her   
conversation.   
  
Moving quietly, Lucy looked around the room for the perfect idea. Working her way   
to the bed, Darien close behind, she considered cutting off the phone, but held   
herself against it. She wanted the person on the other line to hear. Instead, she   
moved to a poster and slowly began to rip it down the middle. The sound of heavy   
paper tearing cut into the room. The girl stopped her conversation and turned back,   
wearing the same paranoid expression her mother had.  
  
Darien walked into the bedroom with Lucy. He watched the teenaged girl   
laying on the bed talking to her friend. For some reason he wanted to jump up   
on that bed and use it as a trampoline. But he held that off and moved over   
to where Lucy was going. He watched her rip the poster in half then he saw   
the look on the girls face. "Looks like you'll have to get a new poster." He   
said to her before finally jumping up on the bed.   
  
"You just don't know how to be subtle do you?" Lucy said through a haze of hysterical   
laughter. She nimbly managed to hang onto Darien's hand as he jumped onto the bed,   
but only barely. She pulled herself up and joined him, still unable to control her   
laughing fits.   
  
"Nope!" Darien jumped a couple of times on the bed when the girl was still on   
it.  
  
The teenage girl stumbled as she got up from the bed, screaming piercingly.   
"Oh god..." Lucy said lazily, "Please, do shut your mouth." The voice on the other   
end of the line was heard screaming the girl's name. The girl gone, Lucy's thoughts   
strayed elsewhere. "I've got one more trick to try....c'mon back to the living room."   
She said, feeling the bed lift up and down as Darien jumped.  
  
He stopped when she got off then ran out. "Another one gone! Okay back to   
the living room then." He jumped off and went back to the living room. "Okay   
why are we back in here?"   
  
Lucy giggled again. Giggled? She couldn't believe it herself, though she blamed it   
purely on the fact she was more susceptible to alcohol tonight for one reason or   
another. "Just laugh like you did in the kitchen." Grinning, she dragged Darien   
back into the living room. The mother was comforting her two children who were   
crying into her. "I don't know...I don't know..." She kept saying. Lucy thought   
briefly that she'd have been out of the house by now...but nevertheless.   
  
She guided Darien over to the piano quietly, hoping the suspense would calm the   
petrified family, at least for the moment. Lucy sat, one hand still clutching Darien's   
and slowly began to touch the keys of the piano. The keys began to march expertly   
under the orders of her depression and she began to play Bach's Toccata & Fugue,   
the music she always associated with ghosts.   
  
Darien shrugged and didn't even ask why she wanted him to laugh the way he had   
in the kitchen. He just went along all the way to the piano. He watched the   
three family members, looking pretty scared. Aww what a strange Kodak moment   
they were having. Oh well soon they'll probably be running out of the house   
because of all the stuff they had done.   
  
Darien glanced down at the keys of the piano then looked back over at the   
family. When was he suppose to do his evil laugh? He let a few cords go by   
before he started up with the laughter. "Muhahahaha!!"   
  
This was something she had always dreamt of doing though she never quite knew why.   
It pain her momentarily as her thoughts strayed to her father, but her mind once   
again came back to the scene at hand. She played expertly, though it was very hard   
to get the full effect of the piece with only one of her hands. But nevertheless,   
Darien's evil laughter added what the lack of left hand music had left out.  
  
She ended it with a crescendo and stood up, glaring at the family. There was a   
sound heard behind Lucy and Darien in the hall. She turned catching a quick glance   
at the teenage boy stumbled from the corridor. "What the hell?" He said looking over   
at his mother and sisters. The mother regained herself enough to stand, whispering   
"Run." to the boy and his sisters. There was a mad rush to the door, as if no one   
had thought of this before.   
  
The door slammed behind and Lucy turned, still gripped Darien's hand. "That was   
abso-bloody-lutly incredible!" She said, forgetting all thought of what her ultimate   
goal was.  
  
Darien quickly looked over his shoulder when the brother had finally made an   
entrance. OOh somone else, he though right before the mother told them to   
run. "RUN FAR AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!!!" He yelled as they made a   
mad dash for the door. "I just had to add that." He said more to himself then   
to Lucy. "Okay now that that's over with lets get out of here."   
  
Lucy was in hysterics again. Though now she wasn't quite sure if it was from the   
vodka or from the pure enjoyment of it all. "Y'know, they'll have the paranormal   
investigators out here tomorrow...not to mention the media." She smiled and laughed   
again. "I'm surprised the constables haven't shown up yet. And yes, let's go!" She   
grinned something that would've looked quite insane. Glancing to where she suspected   
her hand was, she took in the world of Quicksilver knowing Darien could let go at any   
moment and also realizing she wouldn't be seeing this world again. At least not yet.   
She laughed, but this wasn't her former mad laughter, this was something different.   
"Like I said Dar, I'm not letting go until you do." She didn't trust him in this state   
and even so, she wanted the invisible feeling to go on as long as possible.  
  
"Yeah, I thought about that but we wont be here to see the circus of people   
trying to figure out what had gone on tonight." Darien said with a smile. "Or   
maybe we could drop by and see what's going on...You laugh a lot did you know   
that?" He started walking out of the house, still holding onto Lucy's hand   
until they got into the middle of the yard then he let go of her. "And that   
concludes our tour into a haunted house." He joked as he became visible to   
the world again.   
  
"Sounds like a good plan to me. Perhaps we were crossing on the street at the time,   
the terrified family...oh it was horrible!" She said with a sly smile on her not yet   
visible face and her voice once again entering the overly dramatic. With her accent   
it made her sound vaguely like an over trained Shakespearean actress. "Yes, I do   
laugh a lot, thank you. However, it is rather hard not to laugh when you've got a   
gallon of alcohol running through you're veins and company like you. That was without   
a doubt the most excitement I've had in ages."   
  
And then, it was gone. She opened her eyes just in time to watch the quicksilver   
falling from her body. She gasped, her black eyes still unusually wide as she looked up   
to Darien. "Ah, Darien, what just happened?" She asked, still attempting to figure how   
a 'regular' person would have reacted.   
  
"We went invisible and scared the hell out of a family...need I say more?"   
That probably wasn't the answer she wanted to her question but he didn't feel   
like explaining the whole thing. So that's all she was getting from him right   
now. Darien took one last look at the house then started walking down the   
street. "Gotta find something new to do..."   
  
Lucy stared rather blankly at him for a moment. But then again, what was he going   
to say? I've got a gland in my brain that emits a substance which can bend light   
and create the illusion of invisibility? Not only did that slightly too scientific for   
Darien, it was also rather obvious he didn't like to talk about it.  
  
"I'll just blame it on the vodka. It'll all make sense when the hangover's done."   
She laughed again, careful not to let herself slip into the hysterics as she was so   
prone to tonight.   
  
Lucy followed at his left side, taking out another cigarette. Not like she needed it,   
but it had been at least a half an hour since her last and she didn't feel like breaking   
the habit she had been working up to over the last several months. Glancing briefly   
at the case, her thoughts strayed to Arnaud, causing her to find herself in a fit of   
laughter again at the very thought of his expression should he ever find out what just   
happened. Taking in a stream of smoke, she blew it out slowly managing to calm her   
nerves, for the time at least.  
  
"I don't think anything could top that, but I suppose we must try." Lucy sighed,   
flashing him a sly grin at the same time.   
  
"Hmmm....maybe, maybe not but as you said 'we must try'." Darien said as he   
took a glace over at her. Again with the cigarettes. She laughs to much   
and smokes too much. "Since I picked the last fun thing to do I say its your   
turn to figure out what to do next."   
  
"I've no ideas, Darien. But give me a moment, I'll find something." She said, left   
eyebrow cocked and mouth twisted in deep contemplation. Briefly, she attempted to   
sneak a glance at his wrist, remembering for the first time the time-bomb inherent   
to Darien's gland. No luck, the tattoo was well hidden. How long until he reached   
QSM? She had no idea, not with the unknown amount of Quicksilver he expended on   
her during their little adventure in the house.   
  
"When you figure out something let me know." Darien told her as he turned   
down another street.  
  
She noticed his glance to her cigarette, looking at him with a partially unsure,   
partially whimsical expression. "I know, sorry. Nerves." She dropped the smoke to   
the ground and stepped on it.  
  
"You didn't have to put it out on my account. Doesn't bother me...much." He started   
to whistle that stupid tune he was whistling earlier on that night. For some reason he   
couldn't get that tune out of his head. Didn't know where it came from but it was   
there.   
  
"Uh huh, sure. Don't worry I get those looks a lot. Just keep reminding me and I'll   
cut back to two cartons a day." She smiled momentarily before attempting to think as   
Darien broke out into whistling. Lucy couldn't cogitate correctly, a combination of her   
intoxication and the whistling no doubt. And had it been anyone but Darien Fawkes at   
her side, she would have made quite sure they belted up and always considered   
carefully before opening their mouth again. But she restrained herself, biting at a   
nail to provide the activity she now lacked from the cigarette. "I've got it..."   
She said after a moment in a quiet yet dangerous voice.  
  
While Lucy thought of something fun to do he just kept whistling until a sharp   
agonizing pain shot through his head. He ended up on the ground, holding the back   
of his head and moaning and groaning from it. Gotta love the set in of quicksilver   
madness!   
  
However her thoughts of disturbance had come too late. The whistling stopped and   
the next moment her comrade was stumbling to the ground, gripping at the base of   
his skull. "Jesus Christ....Darien!...." She knelt down, unsure if the worry that   
flicked in her eyes was true or feigned. Recognizing the symptoms immediately, she   
ran the possibilities through her mind. She kept a counteragent shot with her at all   
times, Arnaud demanded it. However he wasn't in the advanced stages yet and that   
was only for emergencies. She could take him back to his Keeper...but she'd be   
screwing any chances she had. Darien would have to tell her, and in this drunken   
state she doubted that would be foremost in his thinking. "Damn it..." She whispered   
under her breath, gripping at Darien's shoulders. "Look at me, Darien." She doubted   
he was too far into it, but she needed to check even so.  
  
Darien laid there for a couple minutes after the pain stopped. He was silent,   
eyes closed, it looked like he just passed out, that was until he felt someone grab   
onto his shoulders. He opened his normal colored eyes and looked at her.   
"I'm looking at you..."   
  
Lucy sighed in relief, his eyes were perfectly normal. She didn't want to put up with   
having to think of a plan for getting him the counteragent without him realizing it was   
her. Her speech stumbled, thinking of what to say. "Good....can you focus?....Very   
good...." She said, no clue why he needed to focus but figuring it sounded right for   
the situation. "Gave me a bit of a scare there." Smiling mischievously, she stood up,   
offering him her hand. "Mind telling me what that was?"  
  
Darien just looked at her with a strange look on his face. "I can see   
perfectly fine." He said as he sat up. He needed to get to Claire and fast!   
  
"Just checking...can never be too careful." She looked at Darien for a moment,   
successfully stifling another laughing fit, keeping her expression dead serious and very   
worried. It just wouldn't have looked right had she broken into hysterics again. But   
she had to admit the madness was an utterly brilliant addition and she mentally   
congratulated Arnaud.  
  
He grabbed Lucy's hand then stood up off the ground. "I...uh...it's nothing. I   
just get these really bad headaches out of the blue..."   
  
"Yeah, obviously. They don't appear too pleasant either." She smiled softly, attempting   
something that appeared sympathetic. "Perhaps we should postpone the idea of havoc   
creation for another day?" Lucy searched her coat pocket briefly for her cigarette   
case but halted with a smile at Darien who still seemed slightly dazed. She had to   
get him back to the Agency, but it wasn't exactly as though she could suggest it to   
him. She hoped he might just start to walk that way since Lucy really had no clue   
where they were.  
  
Her mind was now returning to a somewhat normal state. "So, this is the life of a   
Fish and Game officer?" Her attitude appeared to have changed. While still feeling   
rather tipsy, she had more control over her emotions than in moments previous. She   
now seemed more serious and aristocratic however she still had a very mercurial,   
charming presence that had a hint of her more dangerous side.   
  
Much to her disapproval, thoughts of her goal began to force themselves back in her   
brain. There had to be a way to get into the Agency. She felt that perhaps she had   
a basis for Darien's friendship, however it would take much more to gain enough of   
his trust for him to endorse her to the Official. Or Hobbes, for that matter. She   
would just have to work a little harder than originally thought. Perhaps a proof of   
loyalty would be in order.  
  
"Anywhere in particular you'd like to go? And might I suggest it's not another   
taproom..." She added slyly.  
  
"Yeah, I need to find my...friend..." He started walking back down the street   
heading toward the Agency, hoping maybe Claire had gone back there but he doubted   
that. But it was worth a quick look.   
  
Lucy followed close beside him, thinking things over. "Like I said, whatever you want."   
He was going in the general direction of where Lucy believed the Agency to be located.   
She kept herself in quiet for most of the walking. If he didn't want to talk, nether   
did she. She needed the time to think anyway and this gave her an opportunity.  
  
As her thoughts were given to do, they wandered away from the scene at hand and   
back to the time a few hours previous. While on the building, she had witnessed a   
little girl waltz unnoticed into the Agency HQ. The girl had later come out with   
Darien and Claire. They left in Darien's car and minutes later Hobbes had emerged,   
gun at the ready. That kid, there was something about her. But Lucy just couldn't   
place it. And what her nexus to the Agency? It was most definitely not Charlotte   
Eberts. And neither Claire nor Darien had children. She knew almost every living   
relation, friend or acquaintance of these people and the kid was never among them.  
  
Marcus waited....waited...."We're sorry, the cellular phone you are trying to call is   
not answering at this time. If you wish to leave voice mail, please press three at the   
tone." Beep! "Hey, ah," Marcus stumbled, he was never good at talking to people's   
machines. "Hobbes, this is Johnson, your ol' drinking buddy." He laughed nervously,   
never was good at jokes either. "Anyhow, call me, I'd like to talk." He shut the phone   
onto the receiver and looked around the room, lips pursed.  
  
Rather suddenly, he jumped off the corner of his desk and grabbed the sheet of   
paper with Hobbes information on it. He risked his job for this info. and he wasn't   
going to waste it. Okay, so perhaps he didn't risk his career, but he still risked a   
lecture from Morales which was equal to the losing of one's job any day of the week.   
  
He threw his briefcase together, tossing in several files and downing his umpteenth   
cup of coffee. Storming out of his office, he nodded to the secretary with a blustery   
confidence that suited him well. "I'm going out. If Morales decides to show up, tell   
him to go screw himself." Wow....had he just said that? Obviously he was feeling   
slightly more aggressive than he originally thought. His secretary looked stunned,   
nodding in compliance and blinking unsurely. Marcus blew out of the office and waited   
outside the building momentarily, attempting to regain himself. Strange what a day at   
a desk could do to you.  
  
He got into his sedan and flicked off the official radio under the seat. He really   
didn't want to listen to that today. Turning on his 'Good-time' radio, he turned it   
back to his Big Band station, whistling along to Cab Calloway's 'Minnie the Moocher'   
as the drove along, glancing over at the sheet of paper he had laid on the passenger   
seat. An hour later, he arrived at an obscure Fish and Game location. Really, he didn't   
know what to make of it, but heck, if Hadley said Hobbes worked here, Hobbes   
worked here.   
  
"Had a dream about the King of Sweden....he gave her things that she was needin'.   
" Marcus' singing was atrocious and he sounded reminiscent of a dying cow, but he   
persisted in doing it. Slamming the door to his car, he waltzed up to the entrance to   
the building. At the same time, he noticed two people, a man and a woman, approaching   
his area. "Fish and Game has sure changed." He muttered as he watched the pair.   
Neither seemed quite right to him.  
  
The whole time they walked there it was silent Darien kept to himself and   
Lucy kept to herself. Who knows what she was thinking but that little prank   
they pulled on that family kept replaying in his mind. He couldn't help but   
to grin at the looks that those people had on their faces before they bolted   
out of the door. He stopped walking when he saw someone walk up to front   
entrance. Hmm...who's this? he wondered before going over there.   
  
Lucy chewed at the side of her lip as she thought. She needed to do something to   
relieve the apprehension she was feeling. How long had it been, almost an hour since   
the last cigarette? She was already feeling the repercussions. Several times she   
glanced over to Darien, who was being oddly quiet yet had his classic Darien-grin on   
his face. She laughed lightly, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. The family,   
their faces, their fear. Even if Arnaud never figured out the gland technology, she'd   
never forget that memory. Pity she forgot a souvenir, it would have been a nice   
addition to the collection.  
  
Finally looking up, she realized quite suddenly they had arrived back at the Agency.   
Her car was missing and she cursed under her breath. "Well, that's perfect. They   
towed my car." She cursed again and looked up to Darien. Perhaps this disadvantage   
would work for her. Another anomaly struck her. There was someone at the front of   
the Agency. She stopped briefly. Marcus Johnson, Hobbes' former FBI partner. She'd   
spoken to him briefly when she had first started tailing Hobbes. Of course, to him,   
she had been Nata Molokov; a blond struggling actress with violet eyes and a Russian   
accent. Lucy was good at disguises, and there had only been one occasion when an   
identity had been detected. However it always made her nervous when confronted with   
someone she had met as someone else.  
  
Never leaving Darien's side, she advanced on Marcus, her cynical expression present   
again.  
  
Marcus watched Lucy and Darien carefully. No, both were definitely wrong in his book.   
"You two work here?"   
  
"I do...she don't." Darien replied not taking his eyes off of Marcus. "Why do   
you ask?" Who was this guy and why was he here?   
  
Marcus eyed Lucy and Darien cautiously as did both Darien and Lucy with equal   
suspicions. "No I don't work here, not yet anyway." Lucy said, turning to grin   
briefly at Darien. Lucy hadn't liked Marcus when she pressed him for information   
about Hobbes. In fact now that she had met Hobbes personally, they were *very*   
similar. A little too similar to her tastes. She regarded him carefully, now positive   
he didn't recognize her and lightening up a bit.  
  
"Who are you anyway?" Darien asked.  
  
Marcus continued to eye Darien suspiciously. "Johnson, Marcus." He said with a tone   
that was totally unbefitting of him. "You know a guy name Robert Hobbes?"   
  
Darien glance over at her wondering what she meant by 'not yet.' Oh   
well not important right now this other guy was. He put his   
attention back on Marcus. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. What's it to you   
Johnson, Marcus?"  
  
Lucy cocked her eyebrow to Darien's glance, smiling mischievously. However, when   
Darien looked back to Marcus, so did Lucy, glaring at him. She folded her arms,   
feeling the cigarette case in her inner pocket and pulling it out. It'd been long   
enough for Darien to except her smoking again. It wasn't as if she could just quit.   
She lit it with a click of her lighter, her dark eyes boring into Marcus.  
  
Marcus' eyes however were staring with an intensity that matched even Lucy's, at   
Darien. "I don't believe that is anything which you should concern yourself about,   
Mr. ah, who exactly *are* you?" He continued the face-off, his eyes never leaving   
Darien's.  
  
"The names Fawkes, Darien Fawkes. And since you don't want to answer   
my question I'm not going to answer yours." He crossed his arms over   
his chest giving Marcus the same intense stare, that is, until that   
sharp annoying pain in the back of his head came around again. He did   
the same as he had done before, grabbed the back of his head and   
ended up on the ground except this time he wasn't sprawled out on the   
floor he was leaning up against the building.  
  
Lucy dropped her cigarette quickly and took up attempting to steady Darien who had   
fallen against the wall. "Damn it Darien...not again..." She looked up to Marcus.   
"Look, just get out of here, got me?" Marcus stared at her, not at all feeling like   
himself. Had this been anyone else, he would have been attempting to help Lucy,   
but he had decided upon first sight he didn't like or trust either of them.   
  
Marcus finally took a step forward. "What is it....does he need a doctor?" he said,   
attempting to sound important. Lucy stared back at him, not saying a word however   
her expression said volumes. She'd administer the counteragent if she had to, but not   
with another witness to worry about. "I told you to get the hell out of here..." She   
whispered in dangerous tones. Her voice had gone through a complete change; she now   
sounded deadly serious. Marcus just couldn't draw himself away and he wasn't going   
to listen to some random woman. He started to inch closer curious. "I've got my cell   
with me, let me call..."  
  
The first ramblings between Lucy and Marcus sounded like nothing but two people   
mumbling, which of course they weren't, but that's what it sounded like. The rest of   
the 'conversation' was pretty much clear. Darien looked up finally with his now red   
eyes then got up off the ground as if nothing had happened. "I don't need a   
doctor...I'm fiinnee." He said with a grin.  
  
Lucy swallowed hard, successfully managing to switch off any fear she might have   
been feeling at the time. She stared at Marcus as Darien stood up, mouthing "Are   
you deaf?" She turned to the now standing Darien, unable to keep her eyes away from   
his which now were swimming with red. Taking a deep breath, she drew herself up.   
She could deal with this as long as that idiot Johnson stayed out of her way. Fumbling   
in her pocket, she made sure Darien was focusing on Marcus.   
  
"Damn...where was it...please don't let it be in the car...." Ah, she found it.   
God, she was no medic...what was she supposed to do? Arnaud seemed to have   
conveniently forgotten to tell her this. And how was she supposed to administer it?   
Jesus...but there was a part of Lucy that wanted to see this. Talk about some   
interesting company...  
  
Marcus stared, wide-eyed and speechless. "What the hell...what's wrong with your   
eyes?"  
  
Darien wasn't paying much attention to Lucy; who was searching for the   
counteragent in her pockets. All of his attention was on the guy   
that stood in front of him. "My eyes?" He asked tilting his head to   
the side. "Nothing's wrong with them. They're perfectly fine." He   
said taking a step closer to Marcus. "What's wrong buddy you look a   
little scared. Are you scared?" He asked with an evil grin on his   
face.  
  
Lucy drew out the counteragent, staring at it, shaking her head and using language   
that would make a sailor blush. She closed her eyes briefly, opening them again with   
a glint that hadn't made itself apparent for what seemed an age. She was feeling   
vicious, damning Arnaud for leaving her like this. He would hear all about this.   
Resigned, she stood back, watching the inevitable unfold before her with a sadistic   
grin as she lit another cigarette.  
  
Marcus let his eyes stray to Lucy who only stared at him, mouthing 'I told you...'   
He turned back to Darien's disturbing red eyes. Bringing himself to full stature, he   
stared back at the maniac that stood in front of him. "Mr. Fawkes, I beg to   
differ...they are red." He had no idea what he was doing, but he slowly brought his   
hand up to gun, hoping Darien would be too involved in staring at him. He was careful   
not to break the eye contact, which was the key, at any time. However, Marcus   
ignored Fawkes' taunts. Admittedly, he was nervous, but not scared.   
  
"Really? I guess I should go and have that looked at huh?" Darien   
glanced down just in time to see Marcus getting ready to pull the gun   
out if he needed to. "OOHH! The big bad tough guy has a gun and he   
might use it on me. Oh no should I be scared?"  
  
Marcus drew in a breath. The man in front of him was utterly crazed and there were   
very few ways to deal with the insane. Marcus stood his ground, continuing the eye   
contact even though Darien had broken it, watching Marcus draw out his gun. "No,   
Mr. Fawkes, not at all. I will not use my gun unless you give me a reason." Again,   
Marcus had no idea what he was doing. He had confronted murderers, terrorists,   
arms runners...but there was something so unusual about the man who was watching   
him with those mad, red eyes.  
  
Lucy still stood back watching, attempting to once again stifle the laughter that   
wanted to burst from inside her. In a way, she hoped Arnaud's lackey was filming   
her, she'd want to have this moment to keep. But she was also thinking about ways   
to gain the trust of Hobbes, someone she would definitely need if her plan was to   
work. Lucy allowed her eyes to dart between the two men. If Marcus tried anything,   
anything at all, she'd take him. But of course, not before saying if was for his own   
good.  
  
"I have to give you a reason to use it huh?" Darien asked, taking a   
glance at the gun. "Well what if I did...Oh I don't know; This,"   
He punches Marcus hard in the face. "Would that be a good reason to   
shoot me?"  
  
Marcus was taken back, not at all expecting the fist that landed hard across his   
cheek. Lucy swallowed back laughter, drawing in the smoke and blowing it onto the   
scene. Stumbling, Marcus fell backwards yet managed to grab a hold of his gun,   
drawing it out and holding it steadily at Darien. "Damn it, don't make me do this."   
He said, watching Darien for the slightest move but paying no attention to the fact   
that Lucy had been inching closer.   
  
Darien tilted his head to the side again as he watch Marcus pull out   
the gun. "I guess that's all I had to do." He said in one flat tone   
of voice as he started to move closer, not caring about the threat   
that came from Marcus. "Go ahead and do it. I dare you!"  
  
Marcus stood there, using only one hand to hold his gun, which to anyone who knew,   
meant he was not serious about it actually using it. His other hand was rubbing his   
jaw which was throbbing. Lucy continued to make her way closer to the scene, her   
eyes flicking back and forth between Fawkes and Marcus. Which one? Finally, she   
dropped the cigarette to the ground and casually reached into her blazer. But then   
she halted, guns would not be necessary, at least not currently.   
  
Lucy smiled and intrepidly stepped between the two of men. She faced Darien with a   
sly grin, Marcus' gun now pointing at her back. She was very good in hand to hand   
combat and she knew that while Darien was currently insane, she could deal with him.   
It would also work to her advantage if she did get a little roughed up for the sake of   
Marcus. Perhaps Hobbes would rethink his assessment of her. Not to mention the   
reactions of the others, including that of Darien when he was once again sane, could   
be quite interesting.  
  
"Darien, don't be a git. I know the guy's an s.o.b., and frankly, I would've done the   
same thing had I been in your place. But c'mon, he's not worth it. Just look at him.   
Save it for someone who deserves it." Lucy paused tilting her head to match the   
inclination of Darien's. "Johnson," she now spoke to Marcus but kept her gaze level   
with Darien. "Either get out of here or you make yourself useful. Find someone and   
tell them there's something wrong with Darien Fawkes. Go! You'll both thank me for   
this later." She added with a foxy smirk  
  
Marcus wanted to stay, just to watch how this scenario was threatening to unfold.   
But this was not the time for curiosity. He turned back to the entrance, thinking   
over what he should do. Call for backup? Help the woman?  
  
Lucy stared at Darien, her eyes flickering dangerously. "Dars...."  
  
Darien looked at Lucy then slowly looked back at Marcus. He didn't think that   
guy wasn't worth it, he was someone to screw around with, well Lucy could be   
someone else to mess with but he'd rather mess up Marcus more then Lucy. "Save   
it for someone who deserves it....I have been but he's not around right now   
so Marcus here will have to do." Darien watched the guy for a minute more   
before looking back at Lucy. "Hmmm...?"   
  
Lucy pursed her lips, continuing to watch Darien's mad eyes carefully. "Not around,   
huh? Might I ask about whom you speak?" She was pretty sure who he was talking   
about and, in the position which he currently had placed her, Lucy wouldn't have   
minded a little Arnaud-focused violence herself. "Perhaps you're right, perhaps   
Marcus would make a fine replacement. However I'm afraid I can't let you do that."   
Lucy grinned dangerously at Darien. "Just hold on a minute and he'll be all yours."  
  
Her hands were behind her back and Lucy was narrowly trying to shoo Marcus away   
from the scene. Marcus was in a trance of sorts, unable to tear himself away from   
Darien and Lucy. Darien was obviously a threat, but Lucy appeared to be a threat in   
her own way and there was something *very* familiar about her. But in the end,   
Marcus ran into the building telling the first person he saw, "There is something   
wrong with Darien Fawkes..."  
  
"You wouldn't know him so why bother telling you who it is?" Darien told her,   
keeping his focus on Marcus. He really wished Lucy would move on her own. He   
really really wanted to have some fun with this guy but she was in the way!   
Oh well she wont be in about two minutes. "Make up your mind if I can have   
some fun or not." He glanced down then looked back up to see Marcus run   
inside the building. "You made him go in there didn't you?"   
  
"No...actually. Yes, I suggested it but I never *made* him go in there. You see,   
Darien, he just wasn't your type. No challenge, I promise." Lucy's expression was   
held tightly in her grin. Had anyone besides an insane invisible man been near her,   
the grin would have made them feel more than rather uneasy. She tilted her head   
to the side again, matching her eyes upwards at Darien's and mimicking his mannerisms.   
She wasn't going to move unless he did, and hopefully that fool had left by now.  
  
Marcus raced back out, but watched from an area he hoped he wouldn't be seen. The   
person he had spoken to only swallowed and looked away nervously, mentioning   
something about a Keeper? And how she wasn't there currently, and....Marcus left   
before he could finish.  
  
"And who's my type? Hmmm...?" Darien asked as he grabbed a hold of her   
shoulders. "Is it you? Or is it somebody that you have in mind? Or can it be   
the next person who walks by us?"   
  
Lucy's adrenaline was pumping. It was obvious in her eyes, they had an berserk glint   
to match even Darien's. And when Darien gripped her shoulders, it only became more   
apparent that she was currently fearless. Marcus watched this display with interest.   
Who were they? What were they doing? Upon first viewing, he could have sworn they   
were some sort of friends. But now, both looked bloodthirstily at the other.  
  
"It could be one of two people." She said, her voice still sly but dangerous. "It can   
either be me," she hesitated as anger flashed in her black eyes, "Or the other which  
I am currently thinking about. However, since the latter is not present, it appears   
I'm the only choice." She grinned at him, her eyes widening. In a quick move, she   
freed a shoulder from Darien's grip and brought her hand up in a fist, swinging in the   
direction of Darien's jaw.  
  
Darien's head moved a little to the right from when Lucy punched him but other   
then that it didn't affect him though it did piss him off! "Shouldn't have done   
that." He grabbed her then pushed her against the wall, hard.   
  
Marcus still watched from the shadows, but he was ready at any moment. While he   
distrusted the woman, she was still that, a woman and he had very deep chivalrous   
interests.   
  
It was apparent that Lucy had mentally snapped. The air that was felt about her was   
so different from the original facet she used to charm Darien.   
  
She felt her back pain under the pressure Darien had used to press her against the   
wall. However she remained silent, staring at him as her hair began to fall over her   
face. Continuing the outface, trusting it would be enough to distract Darien, Lucy   
wrapped a leg around Darien's, avoiding touching it. Then in one push, she heaved   
her entire weight against him, attempting to push him from her. She brought her   
leg forward, hoping it would be enough to bring him to the ground and giving her a   
chance for the upper hand.  
  
Marcus began to move, but the woman moved to quickly. She was good, quite good.   
Perhaps she could handle herself. Marcus decided this was probably the truth. He   
needed to find someone from the building. He needed to find this 'Keeper' Or maybe   
Hobbes...If he worked with this Darien Fawkes, perhaps he knew what to do.   
Whipping out the cell phone again, he dialed the number he had memorized from the   
paper.  
  
Before Darien knew it he was on the ground, looking up at Lucy. "Are we   
having fun yet?" He asked before grabbing her legs and pulling her down to the   
ground.   
  
Lucy cocked an eyebrow, too busy congratulating herself to truly notice that while   
on the ground, Darien was still active. In an instant, her legs shot out from   
beneath her and she found only her palms...and Darien...breaking her fall. She   
stared down at him, grinning at the irony of the situation. "Of course. Aren't you?"  
  
"Hello." Darien said with a grin when Lucy ended up landing on top of him.   
"Yeah, I'm having the best time of my life...would have been better if you   
would have let me beat the hell out of that guy."   
  
Lucy just shrugged, cocking an eyebrow. "Sorry, Dars. But like I said, he's not worth   
it." Where the hell was he anyway, he should have caught the Keep....Jesus...she   
wasn't there. Lucy had watched as Darien *and* the Keeper leave the building with   
the child. She swallowed, still smirking at the grinning Darien, attempting to choke   
back the nervous feels that had made themselves apparent in her mind, but not   
apparent in her expression.   
  
"Shall we continue then?" She said, attempting to push herself from the precarious   
position she was currently in. There was no one at the Agency, no one to administer   
the counteragent. Damn! What the hell was she supposed to do now?  
  
"Continue fighting? or going after somebody else?" He stood up once Lucy   
moved out of the way. He took a peek inside the building to see if he could   
see Marcus in there but he wasn't there or he was just in an area that couldn't be   
seen from this position. Either way Lucy wouldn't have let him have the   
pleasure of torturing the guy so save that thought for another day when she's   
not around.   
  
Lucy brushed the dust from her blazer sleeves, feeling something that made her   
heart drop to a pit in her stomach. She swallowed and began searching for the   
counteragent, attempting to keep a calm facade. Where the hell was it? Regardless,   
it wasn't as if she could administer it, but if they ever found out she had a vile of   
it, it would be *very* suspicious. Then she spotted it. Only feet from where she   
toppled on top of Darien and indeed where he now stood.  
  
Casually, she walked back to Darien, keeping her dark eyes focused on his swimming   
red ones. Removing her cigarette case again, she feigned dropping something to the   
ground and quickly pocketed the vile. Sighing, she shifted the small bottle until it   
rested safely in an innermost pocket. Glancing over to Darien, she replaced the case   
without taking a smoke from within.   
  
"It's completely your choice, of course. But neither sound too attractive." She grinned   
at him, attempting to shrug off the fact she was now alone with a mad, unpredictable   
invisible man.  
  
Darien stood there watching Lucy. She was searching for something but   
what? that question was answered when she tried to be sneaking or   
trying to do something else to distract him but he saw what she had   
grabbed off the ground...COUNTERAGENT! "What did you put in your   
pocket?" He asked, knowing damn well what it was that she had. It was   
just a matter of seeing if she'd tell the truth.   
  
Lucy stared at him momentarily. She must have been more intoxicated than  
she previously thought. For years she had successfully been able to pull  
to wool over someone's eyes, but not only had she been matched in hand to  
hand combat, but had also been witnessed while retrieving the  
counteragent. "Nothing Dars," she said casually, "Only my meds, I should  
have taken them by now, but hell, it's not like I've had a chance." She  
grinned at him and damned herself at how horribly she was botching this  
job.   
  
"Nice cover up. But I don't believe it..." He started walking towards her.   
"Now lets try this again...what did you pick up off the ground and put in   
your pocket?"   
  
Lucy continued to stare at him, a rather shocked look on her face. "Told you Dar,   
I'll show you if you want. It's some sort of new therapy for bipolar disorder. Hold   
on one..." She began to search her pockets, cursing under her breath. "Where the   
hell is it...I don't even know why they give it to me. I don't have this 'Bipolar' crap   
anyway."   
  
Darien stared at her, not buying any of that explanation at all. "Here let me   
refresh your memory." He pushed her up against the building again then dug in   
the pocket that he watched her put the vile in. He pulled it out a couple of   
seconds later. "I know what this stuff is...and its not medicine from any   
doctor either."   
  
Lucy, while not forgetting that Darien was suffering from QSM, had perhaps become   
slightly too casual. She was thus taken back as Darien once again pushed her against   
the wall of the building. Cursing mentally, Darien's hands dove into her inner pocket,   
pulling out the small vile. Luckily, her shoulder holster had managed to stay hidden   
through the entire affair. She watched as Darien looked up at the vile, holding it   
only inches from her face.  
  
"Damn it Darien, what the *hell* did you do that for?" She said struggling against   
him. She wouldn't fight him, not while he was holding the counteragent. So instead,   
she adapted an angry, almost vicious, expression. "Read the label..." she said   
indicating to the small label wrapped around it. Just for this sort of case, she had a   
label of another medicine types across it.  
  
Darien kept holding her against the wall with one hand and held the   
counteragent in the other. He shook it up and kept it in plain view for the   
both of them. "Because I wanted to do it." Was his reply to her question. He   
glanced at what was taped on the vile then looked back at her. "Nice try...I   
know what it is and I'm not falling for fake medicine names taped on the   
sides...What would you do if I...dropped it?" He let go of it but caught it   
quickly. "Why do you have this anyway?"  
  
"Well, I did say there'd be no more protesting from me." Her glare melted away and   
was quickly replaced with a grin. She watched Darien, not the vile and only caught   
herself glancing to it briefly.   
  
Lucy caught herself from moving, or indeed even gasping. She had full control and it   
wasn't as if the counteragent was of great use to her anyway. However she was   
visibly relieved when Darien caught the vile. "Drop it Dars, it'll give me an excuse not   
to take it. And I told you why I have it, they think I'm a manic depressive.   
You think *that* is bad," she said, lowering her voice and laughing.   
"You should see my medicine cabinet. I could make a fortune on the   
street."  
  
Darien shrugged his shoulders then let go of the vile. It crashed to the   
ground by their feet, blue stuff all over the ground with little shards of   
glass in it now. "Oops I drop it." He grinned then took a step back.   
  
Lucy's stomach lurched forward as if she suddenly found herself on some sort of   
thrill ride. Oh well, no big loss, she kept telling herself. But it didn't change the   
fact that she had lost her only possible savior. To mask these feelings, she broke   
out into a grin. "Thank you, Darien." She started to laugh mildly. "I'd like to see   
Doctor Baker's face when I tell him the fate of his dear medications." Though   
released, she continued to lean against the wall, watching Darien in his madness.   
  
"Hmm...that's nice, really." Darien said as he leaned up against the wall.   
"Now do you have anything in mind to do or do I have to go off and find my   
own fun?"   
  
"Not currently," She said turning to face him but still leaning against the wall, "But   
I'm sure we can find something." Christ, he was going to leave the Agency in this   
condition? Where the hell was Marcus? Hobbes? Anyone, she wasn't particular.  
  
In truth, Marcus was watching this entire exchange from a place well hidden. He felt   
like a coward, but there was no arguing with the obvious. This man was deadly and if   
that woman knew how to handle it, let her be. Again and again, he tried Hobbes'   
numbers. All of them, house, cell, daytime but there was no answer. "C'mon Hobbes,   
pick up." He whispered as he watched Darien and Lucy, now both seeming rather civil.   
However, it was obvious the threats still hung heavy. And what was in that vile Fawkes   
had taken from the woman?  
  
"I'm sure we can find something too." Darien said, stepping away from the   
wall. "No need to stick around here anymore." He starts to walk away but   
stops when he sees Claire and the kiddies arrive. More fun without having to   
go far...   
  
Claire, Maggie and Charlotte were on their way to the Agency. Maggie had lost her key  
and was determend on finding it.   
  
"Is this the key? " Charlotte asks while holding it up to Maggie. "I found it here on the  
floor."  
  
Maggie shook her head. "I never saw that one before, mine is...bigger than  
than one." Once they arrived back at the angency she was feeling less like  
she might break down in tears. The three of them entered as Claire keyed in  
the codes and began to search. "It has a square bottom," Maggie told them  
as she began to crawl around on her hands and knees looking for the key and  
feeling really desparate.  
  
After searching around the lab, Claire spots a key under the edge of the lab door.  
"Is this it?" she asked, holding it up for the little girl to see.  
  
"Yes," Maggie cried relieved as she took the key. "I saw you're friend out  
there with a lady..."  
  
Claire gave the girl an odd look. Lady? What lady and what friend? "Come on we   
better get the two of you to Eberts'." She walked out of the lab, stopped halfway  
in the hall, making sure they were following.  
  
Lucy smiled and brought herself away from the wall, dusting an invisible speck   
of dust from her blazer. Pulling her glasses from an inner pocket, she stuck them   
on the bridge of her nose. She didn't trust Darien in this condition and wasn't   
about to take any chances. Glancing briefly to the counteragent, she returned her   
gaze to Darien. "Yes, and if it comes to it, there's still more houses. We could   
make it mass poltergeist sightings." She grinned at him, however she was distracted   
by Darien's car which pulled up. Claire exited, then the kid from earlier and another   
kid...no....Charlotte Eberts.  
  
She sighed, cursing. "Damn...hey, Dars, I've got it.." She said. If Arnaud hadn't   
insisted on both the downfall of the Agency *and* Darien Fawkes, she could have   
taken him down several hundred times already. But no...de Fohn knew the Agency   
would always be a thorn in his side, especially if Fawkes was left alive, as he had   
insisted. So she decided on the next best thing. Lucy ran, catching up with Darien   
and glaring at the party. If he tried anything, she would simply have to step in again.   
Sure, her back was starting to ache, but there was the advantage she assumed before.  
  
Darien slowly looked back at Lucy, tilting his head to the side again.   
"You've got something for us to do? Is that what you've got?" IF she didnt he   
was going inside that building and he was going to create some fun with or   
without her.   
  
Lucy hesitated. The last thing she wanted was to take Fawkes from the Agency.   
Without the counteragent, he would be more than a handful. But if she could ever   
get back to her car, there was more available. However, she would still be faced   
with how exactly she was supposed to administer it.   
  
She swallowed, remembering something she had been thinking about since she had   
arrived in San Diego. Perhaps she could distract him long enough for that git Johnson   
to get Claire out here and administer the shot.   
  
Grinning at Darien with a foxy expression, she reached into another blazer pocket.   
She had been casing the San Diego Art Museum in Balboa Park. There were several   
museums, all with priceless artifacts, but Lucy wanted something big....something   
that would grab some attention. But she shrugged it off, she couldn't go through   
with it, not now at least, and the entire scene would rely on Claire or Marcus' timely   
entrance.   
  
"Cree Dars, I think I've got something for us to do. That nifty little talent you   
displayed in the house. Was that my drunken imagination? Or was that what really   
happened?"  
  
"I'm all ears Luc. Tell me what you've got in mind." Darien said. "What we   
did wasn't your imagination, it was as real as the ground we're standing on."   
  
Maggie ran after Claire and heading outside. "Hi," she called waving at the pair.   
  
Darien looked up when he heard Maggie calling and waving out to them. He   
grinned then started walking over to the little group. "Well, well, well what   
do we have here?"   
  
Charlotte notices Darien's red eyes. She quickly looked at Claire. What was wrong  
with him? She'd never seen anyone with red eyes before.  
  
Claire saw the look on Charlotte's face then she quickly looked up and over at Darien.  
Great, he had hit QSM and she wasnt around to prevent this from happening. "Come  
on Darien. I have something for you inside."  
  
Darien shook his head knowing exactly what she had inside for him. "How about   
I stay right...hmmmm...I dont feel like going back in that place..I've been   
trying to escape it all day."   
  
She drew in a deep breath and glared at Darien. "Fine." Claire said before heading   
back inside to retreave the counteragent. He needed it and she was going to give it  
to him if he liked it or not.  
  
Darien watches not saying anything. He didnt want any of that damn   
counteragent! He watched Claire go inside then come back with the stuff. "Oh   
no, you are not giving me any of that." When Claire came near him he smacked the   
shot out of her hands. "I said I dont want it."   
  
"What is wrong with you, Darien, you need it. You're ill." She told him. Hopefully  
the kids will by the whole he's ill line and maybe they wont ask a bunch of questions  
later on.  
  
"Nothing is wrong with me, Claire." Darien replied, taking a step away from   
her. "I'm not ill, I feel perfectly fine. Never felt better."   
  
"I don't think so." She said, taking a step towards him.  
  
"I do." Darien said moving away from her again. "We can do this all night if   
we have to but I don't feel like playing this game."   
  
Lucy's gaze strayed to Claire, who had obviously noticed that Darien was not quite right.   
Moments later, Lucy at Darien's right side, Claire began to advance with the   
counteragent. Apperently, she hadn't even noticed the woman that stood beside the   
man of the hour. "'ullo." She said to Claire, her mischievous grin firmly in place.   
An argument began between the Keeper and Darien, and Lucy just stood, never leaving   
Darien, and lighting herself another cigarette. And so it continued, Darien and Lucy   
stepping back, Claire advancing, needle at the ready. "Dars," she said "Hold still."   
She looked to Claire then to Darien and once again threw a hard punch at Darien.   
Unsure if it would give enough time for Claire to inject him. If it didn't work, she   
covered herself. "Sorry Dars, just testing. Shall we?" She smiled before breaking out   
into her hysterical fit. She was obviously still quite drunk.  
  
Marcus blinked several times. There was that Fawkes again. And the woman. The   
woman that entered the building soon had a shot of sorts in her hand and was   
attempting to administer it to the man. He watched with an unusual fascination. 


End file.
